A Day of Exhibitions on Off the Wall Friday

First of all - I want to apologize for the technical issues last week's link up had.  There was one on my end  - if the margins are off on the blog for some reason it affects everything.  Then, there was some weird issues going with InLinkz which seems to have been sorted out before the link up concluded.  I've been using InLinkz all these years and its very rare that they have technical issues.  If there are ever any issues or questions concerning linking up your blog post - please reach out - my email is ninamariesayre at g mail yada - yada.

Sooooooooo, this week we celebrated my birthday a little early and my husband took me to the Cleveland Museum of Art since their spring exhibits were in full swing.  We got to see Africa & Byzantium, Monet in Focus, and Korean Couture: Generations of Revolution.  It was extra fun since it was Senior Appreciation Day and the place was packed!  I love how friendly all the seniors were and everyone wanted to chat with each other over their love of art.   (Go figure not one person had their head in their phone!)

Icon of the Virgin and Child, 500s, Byzantine Empire (Egypt)

We started our day off with Africa & Byzantium in the special exhibit hall. Africa and Byzantium focuses on the intricate artistic relations between the Christian kingdoms of North and East Africa and the Roman Empire dating back to the 4th century and beyond.  The show included 160 works loaned from all over the world including large-scale frescoes, mosaics, and luxury goods such as metalwork, jewelry, panel paintings, architectural elements, textiles, and illuminated manuscripts.  I was especially interested in the many textiles since of course they were done all by hand.  It was amazing to me what great shape they were in.  I thought the exhibit especially timely since it brought together art from the three faiths of the region, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

Noah:  The Eve of the Deluge, 1848. John Linnell (British, 1792–1882)
(just for the record - that imagine does NOTHING for this painting - it's AMAZING in person)

Then we took a docent led tour themed Sunrise/Sunset.  Most museums offer free docent led tours - TAKE THEM!  You'll learn a ton and it will give you a whole new perspective on what you are looking at.  Many of the pieces were ones that were not new to me, but I was happy to see one  of my favorite pieces new to the collection hung in its rightful spot - 

Vlhelm Hammershoi, Strandgade, Sunshine,  1906. 

 This is a painting that was gifted by Keithley family and its really captures your attention.  I find it ironic that it's called Sunshine when it looks like a haunting night painting in person.

Claude Monet

The tour ended with Monet in Focus which features four of the artist's latter paintings, three of which are on loan from Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris.  It's kinda amazing seeing paintings you've only seen in books and online in person!  I love how all 4 were studies in light.  

Japanese Bridge, 1918 , Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926)

Finally, the day ended with me taking a docent led tour of Korean Couture: Generations of Revolution. (click the link to see a short video of the exhibit).  I loved how this show started with examples of fashion from 500 years ago and moved to the present.  You can see how fashion has changed but the love of detail of the Korean people has not.  My favorites were two pieces done in mulberry bark by the amazing designer Lee Jean Youn where the backstitched embroidery was amazing!  They also had the Teddy Bear coat on exhibit from 2011 - do you remember that one?  I was like OMGosh I remember when that was all the talk!

Lee Jean Youn

It really was a great day!  Please, please, please go have a look at your local museum's web pages to see what they have on special exhibit.  I always find something totally fascinating!

So What Have You Been Up to Creatively?

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A Return to Off the Wall Friday

Women Ironing, 1884–86. Edgar Degas

First I want to say a big thank you for all the kind words I received over the last couple of months.  This has been the first significant break I took from blogging and it was really needed.  I've learned that my creative journey has had its ups and downs over the years, and it's okay.  To quote my friend, Rhonda, just "Don't give up",  So I'm not.  

I'm officially back in my studio!  It's funny to get back into your studio and think, "Okay, where was I?"

  I left off at hand appliqueing Month 9 of the Quilt Show's BOM 2023.  The task-oriented side of me is kinda bummed I didn't finish it in 2023, but then I reminded myself that not many people were actually doing it by hand.  Besides, the idea is not to beat yourself up....the idea is "Don't give up!"  So I am going to endeavor to applique in the evenings when I'm relaxing to my favorite audiobooks.

Also, on my 2024 To-Do list is to finish up the Sunflower Girl I started in Timna Tarr's Mosaic stitch class last July.  She's been sitting right where I left her when I unpacked and like Paul said - she looks lonely.  I want to finish her up before I leave for John C. Campbell in March (more on that in a later post!)

Woman Ironing, c. 1869. Edgar Degas

We did find time to get over to the Cleveland Museum of Art to see the exhibit, "Degas and the Laundress: Women, Work, and Impressionism."  So we all know Degas' fascination with dancers, but he also had a great interest in the working-class women of Paris.  Over his lifetime, the laundress series spanned 30 paintings.  I was a little surprised that he found the "lowly laundress" so fascinating.  I mean, a male painter depicting women actually going through their normal day's work with their clothes on!  Who would thunk?!  Not to mention, he had people commission pieces from the series, so he wasn't the only one who found the laundress interesting.  The exhibit while not huge was sooooooo good!  Along with Degas, it also included works of his contemporaries, Gustave Caillebotte, Berthe Morisot, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec to name a few.

Under Things I Like....

Do you have your favorite YouTubers?  Lately, we've been watching a lot of YouTube.  One of our favorite vloggers is Baumgartner Restoration.  Julian Baumgartner takes you along on his journey conserving paintings.  I'm not sure what is more fascinating the care and attention he brings to his work or the difference between the "Before" and "After".  One warning, this channel is addicting!  Julian has the nicest voice and way about him.  

What are your favorite YouTube channels?

soooooooooooo

It's very - very - good to say - once again....

So What Have You Been Up to Creatively?

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What I Learned at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Off the Wall Friday

Blessed with good weather, my husband and I decided to spend a day in Cleveland to do some of my favorite things. We started with a visit to the Cleveland Museum of Art, went on to dinner at the Siam Cafe, and finished with Peter Mayer's Star's and Promises tour.  (Peter is the lead guitarist for Jimmy Buffet and we've been going to his Christmas performances since 2006).  I had never been to The Flats in Cleveland where he was playing and boy I'll need to go back for some more exploring!

The view from outside the Music Box Supper Club, The Flats, Cleveland Ohio

I was so excited to visit  the art museum.  This was our first time back since covid and they have an exhibit I've been dying to see!  In 2020, Clevelanders,  Joseph and Nancy Keithley gifted more than 100 pieces of art to the museum.  Now that figure is a lot, but when you add in the fact that the art was worth over 100 million dollars, it's enough to make anybody say, "WoW"!  The exhibit was called, "Impression to Modernism, the Keithley Collection".  It's amazing how much you can learn seeing paintings for the first time.

Procession or Pardon at Perros-Guirec, Maurice Denis, 1891

So I was immediately drawn to this painting.  In person, the colors are so compelling.  I was struck immediately by the similarity of this painting with works by Van Gogh who was also painting in Paris at the same time.  Both used big blocks of colors and abstracted reality to help define the composition and create movement.  Both were interesting enough influenced by Paul Gaugin.  

I bring this up to prove the point that all art is influenced by what came before.  Even the masters "Steal like an Artist".  That said there is a difference between influenced and derivative.  When you design a quilt are you "influenced" or did you step over the line and derive from another's work?  It's something to think about for sure.

Tulips, Henri Matisse, 1914

Now I'm not one for still life's normally, but this one had me wishing I could bring it home.  I thought it an excellent example of how value can define the space of a piece.  Plus the contrast between soft edges and hard edges is so interesting. Not to mention, it has you wondering what else is in that room.  I did get a giggle from the museum's take on the painting though.

I don't know about you but I don't think Matisse was "alluding to the uneasy atmosphere in Europe"  while painting tulips.  Sometimes a tulip is just a tulip!  The takeaway from this?  Make your artist statements really convey the truth about your piece, not some line of bull.

Vlhelm Hammershoi, Strandgade, Sunshine,  1906

Oh, I love this painting!  First of all, the composition is made up of rectangles.  I swear I'm going to do a simple line drawing of it and see where it takes me.  THEN the artist's deft use of value masterly conveys  the  mystery of the moment.   I mean who is that woman?  Why is she stuck in the corner?  Plus it has me thinking about what is outside that window.  THEN let's talk about hue ... the palette is all in the same color family but still, you can see every detail.

What did I learn?  Monochromic palettes are highly effectual at creating mood.  Think of this painting in a three color palette.  It would change the whole thing.  Also, the light source in a composition should be thoughtfully placed.  

End of Olsons, Andrew Wyeth, 1969

Here is another painting I wish was in my house so I could look at it everyday. Of course, Wyeth is known for his realistic rural scenes.  This one typifies his skill of capturing the beauty of a daily moment, like a glance out of a second story window.  This house was owned by long time friends who had died recently.  This was the last painting done at the property and was Wyeth's final good bye to the house and them.

This reminds me how important a great crop is to a composition.  Also that simple lines lead to simple shapes and that all makes for a solid piece.  Andddddd....keep an eye out for great compositions in your everyday life!

Speaking of catching a glipse of something that would make a great quilt...I saw this hall outside the East Wing of the Museum.

It  did feel good to get out of my little borough for the day.  It really feeds your creativity!

To my Christian friends, I want to say Merry Christmas....to everyone else I want to send joy and blessings of the season .....and....thank you for reading and participating in Off the Wall Friday!

So What Have You Been Up to Creatively?

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A Visit to An Art Museum on Off the Wall Friday

 

After spending two weeks straight in this old Victorian, it's fair to say that I'm suffering more than a little bit of cabin fever.  For once, Erie has escaped most of the bad weather that has played havoc with the rest of the country.  So I'm thinking that this weekend is a perfect time to get out....welllll.... what is consider "out" during a pandemic.  Unfortunately, my state can't seem to get it's act together and very few people are vaccinated, so most restrictions are still in place.  

Despite that, the museums are open for business.  It's amazing how a little bit of culture goes a long way.  Without our monthly doses of arts this past year, I've felt VERY stagnate and stale.  So it's definitely time to take a ride to town and get a hit of inspiration.  

Where to begin after such a drought....

Art Museum Trip Tips

• Plan! Don't be afraid to take  a ride a few hours away from home to visit a museum.  Check out the museum's website.  Most will have tabs that say VISIT.  All the particulars will be there...Hours...Parking...Fees/Admission.  This year you'll have to add special Covid Policies to the list to research which  will probably include reservation on a time to visit.  Read through the rules of the museum.  What are you allowed to bring with you.  What are the photography policies.  What are the hours of the museum shop and is the restaurant open.  The more you plan, the better you'll feel prepared to enjoy your day.
• Exhibits!  Next, I check the calendar of the museum to see what special exhibits are showing and what galleries are open.  Nothing is worse than finding out that you just missed something you were dying to see or that major galleries are closed due to renovations.  I'll read through the description of the exhibits and do a little background research so I don't go into it totally ignorant.  
• Visit! Wear comfortable shoes, be well rested and wear layers.  Grab a map on the way in and make sure you mark the galleries you CAN'T miss.  
• Focus!  This is something I started doing about 10 years ago.  When I go into an art museum, I'll pick something to focus on.  It might be that I'm looking for inspiration for my next piece.  It might be I'm looking for subject matter for a new series on my blog.  It might be that I want to concentrate on how the artist used light/shadows.  Or we play find the focal point where we go through and find the focal point in each piece.  If this is all too much for you, take a guided tour.  Some are actually guided (like the one I took at the National Gallery...OMGosh!  it was good!) and some are self guided where you download the app (of course you do!) .  Most museums have mp3 players now that have tours on them as well.  This all adds up to...don't just wander around the museum saying, "Oh look at all the pretty pictures"  
• Digest!  My husband and I have a habit of going to a museum when it opens and finishing in time for an early dinner.  We'll have the restaurant all picked out.  That way we can sit over our meal and talk about what we saw.  Normally, we are still chatting on the drive home and as we tumble into bed.  It leads to some really great conversations. Also, I always make sure I buy something at the museum store that will help educate me further (not to mention help support the museum).  You want your visit to feed your creativity.  

Just writing this all out really makes me want to take a drive to the Cleveland Museum of Art.  Right now they had the brilliant idea to put together an exhibit called Stories from Storage where they dove into the treasure trough they call "storage".  Go figure that a global pandemic would play havoc with trying to schedule exhibitions of loaned world art treasures.  So the museum is showcases some rarely seen pieces they have in their own collection.  Also, there is a long running exhibit of Mola Textiles, I've been wanting to see.  My gosh!  now I'm all excited!!  Hopefully the weather will cooperate!

So what are your favorite art museums??

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My OPEN ACCESS Challenge - Off the Wall Friday

Let me just tell you ....  don't start browsing  a museum's open access collection unless you pack a lunch!!!  After many....many....many hours, I finally decided on a piece by the Expressionist Emil Nolde (1876-1956).  I was first introduced to the art of Nolde when I saw the amazing exhibition Monet to Matisse: Painting the Modern Garden.  When I saw his pieces in the exhibit, I was so struck by the use of bold color it made me gasp!

That's why it surprised to find out that he was an accomplished print maker.....yes prints that were just black and white.  Once I started browsing them, it made me think, WOW what would be like in color....and then it went onto many other "What If" questions!!

So I picked a print to play with .....Tanzerinnen (Dancers), 1917.

The description from CMA says

These two swooning female dancers in long, elegant robes express themselves in dramatic but graceful curves, which are matched by Nolde’s vigorous gouging of the block. He combined a richly inked block with embossing, created by printing the block without ink (especially evident on the dancers’ white dresses). Throughout his career, Nolde returned to the theme of the dancer as the embodiment of freedom and expressivity. He knew several renowned avant-garde dancers whose form of modern dance involved elemental poses and free movements, often accompanied only by a drumbeat.

Of course, I'm intrigued by dancers too for pretty much the same reason Nolde was .... the curves of the body, the natural rhythm they bring to a piece ....the freedom the spirit.

So tomorrow on my Creative Day off, I'm going to attempt my first original piece in FOREVER!!  So excited!!  I'm going to use Nolde's print as a jumping point and see where it takes me.  I can tell you right now....it WON'T be black and white!

So What Have You Been Up to Creatively?

The Open Access CHALLENGE on Off the Wall Friday

The Digital Wall At CMA where you can look at images right there

Have you ever heard of the Open Access Movement?  Yeah, me either.  Well at least that was true till my last visit to the Cleveland Museum of Art.  In its simplest definition the Open Access means that academic research (but for my purposes art work) is distributed to the public free of charge and copy right licensing.  With a little bit of research you will find that this movement has its cheerleaders and naysayers (as you can imagine - but really in today's climate what doesn't?)

The Red Kerchief, Claude Monet (CMA)

And why is this important?  Because museums are giving the public free access to their extensive digital collections to use as they may.  The Cleveland Museum of Art  announced last January that  the public now has the ability to  share, collaborate, remix, and reuse images of many as 30,000 public- domain artworks from the CMA’s world-renowned collection of art for commercial and non-commercial purposes. In addition, portions of collections information for more than 61,000 artworks, both in the public domain and those works with copyright or other restrictions, works are now available. 

And CMA is not the only one!!  The National Gallery, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago all have open their images free to the public. 

So I have a challenge!  I challenge YOU to browse through the museums' collections  - pick some picture that inspires you and let it jump start you onto a new path in your creative journey.  Now this doesn't have to be anything formal. It can be sketches, digital or ..... gasp.....actual fabric!!!  But let your imagination run wild and take the plunge into these collections.

I will be sharing mine over the next few weeks and I would love it if you would too.  Anybody who does please link back to this original post so that maybe it will inspire someone else to take the plunge into Open Access!

So What Have You Been Up to Creatively?

The Landscapes of Charles Burchfield on Off the Wall Friday

As always the Cleveland Museum of Art had many great exhibits at once.  Included in this visit was an excellent showing of the local painter Charles E. Burchfield(1893-1967).  The exhibit centered on his drawings from 1915-1920 which he described as his golden year since it was a flurry of creative energy.  He created more paintings in those years than ever before  starting with local landscapes and developing an abstract style that would define his work in the coming decades.

Charles Burchfield at work in later years

According to Burchfield's friend and colleague Edward Hopper,"The work of Charles Burchfield is most decidedly founded, not on art, but on life, and the life that he knows and loves best." That was definitely true of the exhibit.  It was so interesting to see the creative journey he took as he worked.



What I found the most interesting was the progression of the studies he did to create Church Bells Ring, Rainy Winter Night (1917).  Watch how he starts with a rather conventional idea and scene.

Study 1

Tim Burton Creepy  - but still easily recognizable

Study 2

He starts abstracting out the bells but buildings and sky are the same

Study 3 - He add more movement of the whole scene with adding Rhythm to the sky and buldings

He must have been happy on where it was going because they resulted in this amazing piece

Now I know that a lot of people like to spontaneously create. Here though you can see the value with starting with a central idea and using miniature studies to let it evolve into something truly amazing.   I'm sure you can see the influences of Van Gogh in these but this type of abstraction would define his work from this period on.  I personally love it since its approachable but its still rather surreal.  SPOOKY but interesting and mysterious,.  It leaves you wondering  - OMGosh what went on there??

I really think its special when an exhibit can take you into the artist's creative process.  It inspires you to take home a bit of that process for your own work.

So What Have You Been Up to Creatively?

Georgia O'Keeffe: Living Modern on Off the Wall Friday

Okay, is it too late to say I want to be Georgia O'Keeffe when I grow up?  Last Saturday, we finally made it to Cleveland Art Museum to see the exhibit Georgia O'Keeffe: Living Modern.  All I can say is WoW!  I mean it.  It wasn't your average exhibit of just her paintings but a glimpse into  the woman herself.  It showed you her work, her style, and her passion to be a modern original.  The funny thing is that you get the idea that O'Keeffe didn't have to remake herself (or Brand as they say today) into a Modern Original....she just was.

The exhibit began with her aspirations at age 12 to be painter and how her mother taught her how to sew.   It showed her thrifty tendencies with sewing and designing  her own clothes.  It followed her through her break through into the art world of New York City in the 1920's.  It continued on with extensive photography with her as the main subject.  Then moved out west in her more mature years to series of desert landscapes and southwestern symbolism.

All through her life one thing was very clear....she was a modern Icon.  Her fashion style was aptly represented with her love of Japanese influences and the exquisite custom tailoring of black suits for "Going to town".  They had the gorgeous silk and linen blouses she designed with  perfect pleating.,  Even her denim work aprons and jeans were on exhibit.  I mean there is something when you can literally see the shoes that the woman walked in to bring her to life in front of your vary eyes.

Truly, I'm not sure if I was more impressed  with the clothing or the photos or the paintings they gathered.  One thing I know for sure is that she was MUCH more than her famous serious of exotic flower paintings.  You could see the true depth of the artist from the things that were in the exhibit.

My husband and I spent the rest of the evening talking over what we had saw and speculating on her life.  She seemed such an unique individual, a woman before her time .... a true modern Icon.

I highly suggest you take 4 minutes of your life and take a look at this video of this same exhibit in Brooklyn,  It really captures what I saw and thought.  Like I said ....I want to be Georgia O'Keeffe when I grow up.

What Have You Been Up to Creatively?

PIcking Up the Pieces - Off the Wall Friday

Emil Nolde,  Flower Garden , 1922

OMG, if you'd had told me that I could lose a month of my life to a simple, non complicated case of bronchitis, I would have told you were lying.  I would be wrong.  Finally better, I look up and its April!!!  Gosh - how did that happen?

Trying to catch up, I checked my calendar to see what was the most pressing only to find that in one month, I have my "Art With Fabric" blog hop entry due.  Pick a piece of famous art and base a new piece from it.  Easy right?!

NO!!  Do you know how much amazing art is out there?!  And then to let it inspire your own piece??? All in one month???

James Tissot, 1875, Chrysanthemums

But thinking back over the last year where I've tried to study abstract work, what inspired me the most was the Monet to Matisse: Painting the Modern Garden exhibit I saw at the Cleveland Museum of Art.  The use of  color mixing that the impressionists and post impressionists used was amazing.  Painting after painting, I saw how the artist has made several colors in small spaces to achieve the subtle hues of nature.  When you're looking at the painting online or in books, it all seems to blend to one color.  But in person you can see how its several strokes of paint in all different colors that really achieve the effect.  Now this is something that I want to study!!

Not to mention, with all this abstract work, I've been itching to do a little figurative work - flowers  - garden - houses - gate - flowers - did I mention gardens??  I'd love to tell you I finally picked a piece to inspire me but every time I find one I like, I find another!!  I gave myself till the end of Sunday to pick a piece and start work.

I only have a month don't you know?!!

So What Have You been up to Creatively? 

Musings on the Cleveland Art Museum - Off the Wall Friday

Monet to Matisse Exhibit

Guess what I did yesterday?  

I took my daughter, Tessa and her two best friends to the Cleveland Art

Atrium connecting the old building with the new

Museum to celebrate her 18th birthday.  Now Tessa had been there before but her friends (both soon to be art majors in college) had not, so I knew they were in for a treat!!

The museum has recently finished a multi-million dollar renovation and its stunning!! Not only is there more exhibit space, new gift shop and restaurant but there is gorgeous atrium.   Now if you didn't know, the museum  is completely free to the public (as set forth by its founding endowment) and it has about 600,000 visitors a year!   Its collection is over 45,000 pieces with works from all the greats represented.

Renoir

This fall it brought a special exhibit,  Monet to Matisse, Painting the Modern Garden to the museum.  Cleveland is the only US venue and it brings together 107 paintings from artists 1860's to 1940's including Monet, Renoir, Klee, etc etc.  The show is ending January 5th with 129,000 people viewing it!!  Its completely sold out at this point but guess who scored tickets for Saturday night?!  Can't wait to  go back to see it!!

Statues in the Glass Room

Still the rest of the collection kept us busy most of the afternoon and was a literal feast for the eyes.  Not to mention, we followed with a late lunch at my favorite Asian restaurant, Siam Cafe.  You'd have to see the menu - a literal book.  It features Thai, Vietnamese,  Chinese  specialities.  The girls played it safe with a heaping dishes of Pad Thai, but I had a seafood curry that featured eggplant mussels, shrimp and octopus!  It was heaven!

Degas and Morisot

I think I wore out the girls since they slept all the way home.
(See nothing has changed much in 18 years)  I think I had as much fun watching the wonder and joy in their eyes as they saw the work for the first time.   They all agreed that this will not be the last visit to the museum.

All in All  - spending Tessa's 18th birthday taking in beauty, art and culture was one of my better ideas.

Tessa and Tiffany!

So what have been up to creatively?

Musings after the Museum

Mabel Hewit, Houses, 1936

Friday, my friend Kristen and I, made our annual trek to some venue of culture.  This year, we chose to visit the Cleveland Museum of Art.  We had been there before for  a special exhibit on armor (yes Kristen wanted to see all that armor and I just wondered among all the metal men) but the main exhibit had been put away due to renovations.  So it was a treat to finally see what this great museum had to offer.
When I was younger, I used to just stroll through art museums as if they were  big illustrated history books.  I would marvel at the scenes depicted, clothes worn, and history involved.  Now though, I use them as big buildings of inspiration.  The CMA did not disappoint.
First, we were met with the special exhibit of depression era artist, Mabel Hewit.  I had never seen her work before but thought the ads for the exhibit looked interesting.  The exhibits were of her wood cuts and showcased her use of bold color and simple shapes.  I literally feel in love with her work and I'm sure she'll be an influence in mine.

Degas. Dancer Looking at the Sole of her Right Foot, 1896

As I went through the rest of the main collection, I try to take note of the masters' use of value and where the focal points were in their pieces.  Its amazing that the same design elements that worked for them will still work for me.  Like in Degas' piece above, he uses value (the lightest light) to have your eye move across the piece.  Also the use of the accent color burnt orange does the same.  With that the rhythm of the piece is created.  I like that although the dancers are standing still in this scene they still seem to be moving.

Sloan, Women's Work, 1912

Sloan's painting, a Women's  Work, really caught my eye.  Not only was I drawn to my favorite subject matter, women, but also I love his use of line and value to bring your eye right to his focal point.  There among the big buildings of the inner city is a lone woman going about her daily chores.  The laundry line is a big arrow right to her but then he repeats that bit of white near the top to still keep your eye moving.  LOVE IT!

I could go on and on.  Still my favorite part of the museum was the paintings from the 19th and 20th century.  So many of the pieces were figurative without being too realistic so that they weren't just a snapshot of that moment but also envoked a strong feeling.

So remember to take time to treat yourself and your eye to a bit of culture and beauty.  Visit a museum or a gallery.  Your soul will thank you.