What I Did on My Summer Vacation (part 1) - St. Augustine, Florida

I don't want to be one of those annoying people who sit you down and show you hours of boring slides from their vacation. I can remember this being a regular occurrence when I was a child, back before there were digital cameras and computers. Luckily, in this day and age you can look at all, some, or none of them, and I'll never know the difference! Admittedly, I do have trouble leaving things out - editing is not my strong suit.

Drawbridge, St. Augustine

We started our trip in St. Augustine, Florida. The oldest continuously occupied city in the U.S., it was founded by the Spanish in 1565.

St. Augustine is known for its Spanish-colonial architecture and other historical buildings. This is the oldest house in St. Augustine.

Castillo de San Marcos was built from 1671-1675, and is the oldest masonry fort in the country.

Flagler College is just one of many examples of gorgeous architecture in St. Augustine. One of it's buildings is a hotel built in 1888.

We spent some time walking around the beautiful historic neighborhoods...

 

 Of course, we also went to St. Augustine Beach...

... and the beach at Anastasia State Park.

A live starfish.

Great Blue Heron

Let's Try This Again...

Somehow, after I posted it, this post just plain got up and disappeared. I knew it was going to bug me until I replaced it, so here it is, again.

Om Mani Padme Hum, 7.75 x 7.5 inches

ingredients: antique book pages, vintage map, magazine cut-outs, image transfers, artist pens,metallic ink

To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others.
                                                                                                                         ~ Buddha



We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows.
                                                                                                                          ~ Buddha



Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.
                                                                                                                           ~ Buddha


There, I feel much better now!

The Taft Museum (part 2)

The Taft Museum of Art is housed in a building that was built in 1820 and is a National Historic Landmark. Home to the families of several millionaires over a period of more than a hundred years, Anna and Charles Taft bequeathed their home and renowned art collection to the people of Cincinnati.

 The museum opened to the public in 1932.

This post is by no means an overview of the museum's art collection. Being here was a somewhat sentimental journey for me, as I have been here many times before.  I didn't realize it at the time, but I was very lucky in that my parents took me and my siblings to Cincinnati's museums often; it wasn't until I was older that it occurred to me that there were actually many people who never went to museums, though we have quite a few high-quality and well-celebrated ones right here in Cincinnati. (I live just across the river in northern Kentucky.)

One of my favorite paintings in the museum is W. J. M. Turner's Europa and the Bull.  But my favorites pieces at the Taft Museum have always been the exquisite Chinese porcelains, some of which go back as far as the Ming dynasty (mid-fourteenth to mid seventeenth century).

As I walked from room to room, I remembered how the opulence of the house had impressed me as a child; the antique carpets and beautiful furnishings made me feel that I was in the presence of something sacred: art.

Some of the pieces were so ingrained in my memory that I felt I was meeting old friends.

The museum also has a large collection of Limoges Renaissance enamels...

... and murals painted by famed African-American artist Robert Duncanson.

A few more of my favorites paintings:

At the Piano, James Abbott McNeil Whistler

The Cobbler's Apprentice, Frank Duveneck

The Song of the Talking Wire, Henry Farny

I hope you enjoyed going with me on my little trip down Memory Lane. Wishing everyone a wonderful week!

The Taft Museum (part 1)

Yesterday we went to the Taft Museum of Art in Cincinnati to see a special exhibit called Daubigny, Monet, Van Gogh: Impressions of Landscape. Since Daubigny was an artist I had heard little about, I was surprised to see how his work, over time, transitioned from realism to an almost Impressionistic style. It was clear that Monet was heavily influenced by his work, though I had never heard him mentioned in connection to Impressionism. Daubigny also urged his art dealer to sell Monet's work, telling him that if any of them didn't sell, he would replace them with his own paintings. He resigned in protest from the Paris Salon when they refused to show Monet's work.

 Sunset Near Villerville, Charles-Francois Daubigny

The Banks of the River Oise, Charles-Francois Daubigny

"Before the Impressionists, French artist Charles-François Daubigny pushed the boundaries of traditional landscape. In the 1850s and 1860s, Daubigny anticipated and helped shape Impressionism by routinely painting outdoors to capture qualities of light and atmosphere, by launching a floating studio boat on the French rivers, and by exhibiting sketch-like works that critics assailed as “mere impressions.” He became a mentor, colleague, and friend to the Impressionists, especially Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro." ( http://frenchculture.org/visual-and-performing-arts/events/daubigny-monet-van-gogh-impressions-landscape )

 Poppy Field, Claude Monet

Van Gogh, of course, took it a step further, boldly putting down distinct brush strokes and using even brighter and more saturated colors than the Impressionists.

 Wheat Field with Cypresses, Vincent Van Gogh

 The progression is pretty noticeable if we look at the handling of similar subject matter by each artist:

 Apple Trees in Blossom, Charles-Francois Daubigny

Orchard in Bloom, Claude Monet

Orchard in Blossom Plum Trees, Vincent Van Gogh

If you're in the Cincinnati area, this exhibit is well worth seeing. I learned a lot about a subject I thought I was well-educated about, and an artist I hadn't really known anything about, and, of couse, the paintings were breathtaking. To see a slide show of the exhibit, go here.


Tune in for my next post, when I'll show you more of the impressive Taft Museum of Art.

Weekly Quick Collage: Landscape I

Landscape I

collage, 4 x 6.75 inches

In honor of Earth Day (yesterday), I thought I would post a landscape. Making a collage in a landscape format seems like it would be fairly simple, but for me it was not. I struggled to find a balance of semi-realistic and abstract elements; I wanted it to read as a collage, but with an abstract twist. This is definitely going to take more practice; I modified this piece several times, until I felt it was as close to my vision as I was likely to get. I'm sure more will follow, as I will tackle this subject again in the future.

I will leave you with some of Wendell Berry's lines to inspire you for Earth Day:

 “The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.”
― Wendell Berry, The selected Poems of Wendell Berry

“The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope.”
― Wendell Berry

It's That Time Again...

It's that magical time again, when all the plants and trees are waking up from their winter's sleep...

Out at our place in the country, the tiny, delicate bluets are blooming...

... as are the trout lilies...

... and Virginia bluebells...

... and whatever these are...

... and the azaleas are budding.

The water in the Kinneyconick is very clear...

... as the beeches...

... and the hemlocks stand guard...

... and the work on the cabins continues. My husband has reclaimed some huge poplar boards from an old building that was being torn down.

Back at home, the garden has been tilled...

and Brussels sprouts, kale, and lettuce have been planted...

... and much work awaits in the flower gardens.

In the meantime, I enjoy the paper-white narcissus...

... and the beauty of the lilacs in bloom.


Whatever you're doing this Spring, my friends, I wish you a joyous and inspiring one!