Red, scarlet, vermillion, crimson…it’s been on my mind.
Then along comes this and it’s all about red:
How timely! It’s TAFA’s 3rd year anniversary, so Happy Birthday, TAFA!
Archive for the ‘Art’ Category
thinking about red
February 4, 2013handmade books at Pullen Arts
January 18, 2013
Last night a friend and I ‘braved’ the rain and wind (and anticipated snow) to attend a reception at Pullen Arts Center. Work by Kathy Steinsberger and Jennifer Lee Mahaffey were on exhibit.
I think each book offered a different world to explore – visually as well as in content. Both Kathy and Jennifer took time to explain their pieces and show different ones to us – much appreciated and a heartwarming experience.
I got home just as the storm picked up – first sleet, then finally the snow. We only received a slushy dusting of sorts that led to some icing this morning. Now the sun is out.
Winter exhibit at the NC Japan Center
January 12, 2013The reception is this afternoon. Just thought I’d mention it.
Still-life
January 8, 2013
Giorgio Morandi: Still Life of Bottles and Pitcher, 1946, MFA Boston
Viewing a still-life
Quiets the eyes, mind and heart.
Ah! A Morandi!
A gift
December 21, 2012
This little beauty has been sitting on my desk unopened. It is small, about 3 inches long and less than an inch in height.
It’s wrapped in a very small hankie sized furoshiki of silk. The pattern is itajime shibori and was hand dyed in indigo. I didn’t make it. It’s a gift. It arrived earlier this week and I just couldn’t open it (any other time I might give in to temptation). It has been keeping me company when I work at my desk.
I love the presentation. I love the elegance, especially the knot. It makes that statement perfectly- why we really want to forgo the paper gift wrap and do something like this. It isn’t just that it’s mottainai,, there’s the aesthetics as well.
It’s a beautiful presentation created by hand and much more. No wonder I’m in no hurry to see the contents of this package. I can wait.
Encountering Indigo
October 22, 2012I contacted Artspace today and there’s still plenty of room…this is a hands-on experience and has so many implications in the classroom. It’s unique and a great way to engage students with a memorable experience.
For Educators:
ENCOUNTERING INDIGO
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2012
4-6pm
Artspace – 201 E. Davie St., Raleigh
educators must show ID upon registering
Through the experience of one dye, Indigo, students can connect their everyday lives with the history, geography and culture of the rest of the planet. Teachers will be introduced to approaches and resources in bringing this experience to their classroom as well as a hands-on activity.
Instructor: Susan Fennell
Tuition & Materials: $30
It’s following me…
October 22, 2012
So it seems. It probably isn’t the case, but it does turn up frequently in other places, when or where I least expect it. It probably has more to do with the fact that I’m sensitized to the color now and I’m more aware of it. Indigo.
At any rate, this is the piece that attracted or spoke to me far more than any other this weekend. I spent Saturday going through a few exhibits at the NC Museum of Art, including the prints of Edvard Munch. I’d recently read Sue Prideaux’s biography of Munch, so felt like I could approach his work with more clarity and appreciation.
I ran into this one, though – the Boro Futon cover at the Gregg Museum of Art & Design, in the Art Without Artists exhibit showing currently. It’s an eclectic collection of pieces, well worth taking some time with. There’s a lot to consider, like this piece. I could have spent the entire afternoon with it. There were others that attracted for one reason or another, but this was “the one.” I don’t have to say why, do I?
Upcoming: Indigo for Educators
September 11, 2012Artspace just posted this and thought I should do the same. I’ve also added it to my “Workshops” page. I’m looking forward to this one – putting indigo into another context – as a product or topic for education.
ENCOUNTERING INDIGO
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2012
4-6pm
Artspace – 201 E. Davie St., Raleigh
educators must show ID upon registering
Through the experience of one dye, Indigo, students can connect their everyday lives with the history, geography and culture of the rest of the planet. Teachers will be introduced to approaches and resources in bringing this experience to their classroom as well as a hands-on activity.
Instructor: Susan Fennell
Tuition & Materials: $30
Thursday, August 9, 2012
August 10, 2012
Woman's yukata (casual summer kimono)
Cotton
Several types of shibori
Most yukata have blue and white as their two base colors, but occasionally other colors are used.
This lattice design is called kagome, and is often used in basket weaving. The flowers are peonies.
The woodblock print below, by Sadahide, shows kagome weave used in gabions along a riverbank. (Photo thanks to www.printsofjapan.com.)
Recently, someone at a workshop asked whether or not shibori was in other colors besides indigo and this exquisite example above answers that question. I don’t know what dyes were used to achieve this potent red, but it does bring to mind again, the beauty and boldness of that hue.
Shibori is always a main attraction on this particular site, but this time it was a word, kagome (籠目・かごめ) that gave me pause. The word is familiar, particularly in its repeated 籠目籠め、kagome, kagome form. Then again, the write up above defines it as basket weave – two different contexts, so what does it really mean?
Kago does mean “basket” and kagome refers to the pattern. It also means "cage" (as in a bamboo bird cage), and the repeated pattern is a song in a child’s game similar to “Here we go ‘round the Mulberry Bush.” That’s how I know it and often chanted the song and walked the circle in playing the game with my playmates in Kagoshima. I’m always surprised to find how deeply embedded these memories are when I run across them – the unexpected thread.
El Anatsui at the NCMA
July 27, 2012
How could I have considered passing this one by? It’s my good fortune that I didn’t.
Adding more words to the many descriptions already written would be redundant. So, I won’t.
I’ll just say that I did view “When I Last Wrote to You about Africa” and it left me breathless. It’s in its last days at the museum. It’s an absolute must-see.
