Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Ansel Adams Masterworks Opens at Columbia Museum of Art
Last night Kay and I attended the opening of the Ansel Adams: Masterworks exhibition at the Columbia Museum of Art. It was the largest crowd that ever attended an opening at the museum which was very apparent by the standing room only crowd that attended the art lecture by Julian Cox, curator of the photography at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. We also enjoyed viewing The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States exhibition.
I enjoyed viewing Adams body of work, especially the black and white wilderness photographs, including the images he took in the early 1920's in Yosemite Nation Park, but I also enjoyed reading his words.
…a great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed, and is thereby, a true manifestation of what one feels about life in its entirety." Ansel Adams
(click to enlarge). Invitation to exhibition.
Influenza Vaccine
Yesterday afternoon David and I arrived for our appointments to get a flu shot and the nurse informed us that we were very lucky to get the vaccine because supplies are very low due to the high demand for shots this season. With the outbreak of the H1N1 virus this year, many more people are getting flu shots this year.
South Carolina Philharmonic: Oktoberfest
Despite the first cold wave of the season, last night we attended a performance of the South Carolina Philharmonic at the Koger Center in Columbia, SC in celebration of Janette's birthday. The performance was lively and warmed our spirits. Afterwards we discovered photographs of the first inductees into the SC Art Hall of Fame hanging just outside the exit of the concert hall.
Talking Threads: a quilt + fiber arts symposium
I remember hand quilting with my paternal grandmother when I was a young girl during the endless summer that my dad was in Vietnam. I was so proud of my first quilt square until I discovered that while holding it in my lap I had sewn it to my dress. Although I was distraught, my grandmother quickly helped me dissolve my dilemma and once again I was a happy quilter. These memories all came flooding back to me on a rainy day at the Sumter County Gallery of Art in Sumter, SC as I attended the Talking Threads: a quilt + fiber arts symposium with my friends Kay Reardon and Susan Lenz.
(click to enlarge). The postcard itself was a work of art.
(click to enlarge). Dr. Marlene O'Bryant Seabrook, a contemporary
quilt maker from Charleston, SC presents her quilts
(click to enlarge). Dr. Marlene O'Bryant Seabrook
shares her work with the aid of Laurel Horton.
(click to enlarge). A closer look at her work.
(click to enlarge). After lunch, on to the next workshop.
(click to enlarge). Quilter Gustina Atlas at work.
At the end of Jon Eric Riis' presentation on historic tapestry, we viewed the exhibition Tradition/Innovation: American Masterpieces of Southern Craft and Traditional Art in the Sumter Gallery of Art.
Sumter County Gallery of Art.
SC Arts Commission/ Contemporary Conversations: Part 1/State Art Collection
The South Carolina Arts Commission, The South Carolina Arts Foundation and the 701 Center for Contemporary Art recently unveiled its exhibition of the State Art Collection: Contemporary Conversations: Part 1 curated by Eleanor Heartney, contributing editor to Art in America, at the 701 Gallery in Columbia, SC.
Janette Grassi and I enjoyed privately viewing the exhibition on a cold fall morning and then returned that evening for an art talk by Heartney titled The Biennial Paradox. Although we purchased the catalogue of the state art collection, we decided to shelf it until we view part 2 of the exhibition which opens on November 5th. Below are just a couple of my favorite pieces included in the exhibition.
(Click to enlarge). The Door of the Fordibben by Bing Jian Zhang.
(Click to enlarge). Batik by Leo Twiggs.
(Click to enlarge).Quilt by by Heidi Darr -Hope.
Amish Country
Each time I travel to visit my sister in Newark, Delaware I ask her if we can take a day trip to Lancaster, PA to visit the Amish Country. This visit was no different so the day after I arrived, we loaded the car and headed to the pristine countryside.
What was different, however, was the time of year I visited. I was there in early October to celebrate the upcoming birth of my brother's first child and leaves were as beautiful as the patterns on the Amish quilts.
(Click to enlarge). Friends Meetinghouse.
(Click to enlarge). The Amish countryside.
(Click to enlarge). An Amish farm nested amongst the trees.
(Click to enlarge). An Amish buggy.
(Click to enlarge). An Amish buggy draws near.
(Click to enlarge). An Amish buggy in the driveway.
(Click to enlarge). An Amish farm.
(Click to enlarge). An Amish families laundry hangs on the line.
(Click to enlarge). An Amish family approaches us.
(Click to enlarge). An Amish child, not that's Maddie,
my niece selecting her pumpkin on a roadside stand
while in Lancaster.
After a full day in Amish Country we welcomed a delicious hot meal at the home of my nephew and his wife, Melissa. Maddie holds their precious daughter, Emma, long enough for me to snap a photo.
Our day ended back in Newark for dessert at my brother's house. Joe and Tori can't wait for thier newborn to arrive and neither can we!
2009 South Carolina State Fair
Visiting the South Carolina State Fair with friends has become an annual ritual. We begin with viewing the adult and student art and then move to the floral and sand sculpture displays. This year the fair celebrated the Congaree National Park, South Carolina's only national park, which seemed appropriate after watching Ken Burn's educational series on national parks.
(click to enlarge). Janette Grassi and park ranger.
We were reminded that some of the most beautiful colors, textures and patterns are not found on museum walls but in nature when we visited the chicken coops.
(click to enlarge). Rooster:1.
(click to enlarge). Rooster:2.
(click to enlarge). Rooster:3.
(click to enlarge). Doves in flight.
(click to enlarge). Pheasants.
(click to enlarge). Rooster:4.
(click to enlarge). Poodle?.
(click to enlarge). Rooster:6.
(click to enlarge). Rooster:8.
(click to enlarge). Rooster:9.
(click to enlarge). Rooster:10.
(click to enlarge). Pheasants.
(click to enlarge). SC Farmers.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Sacred Spaces
This week a friend took me to one of her sacred spaces. It was a beautiful river trail tucked in the foothills of North Carolina. We treked five miles and enjoyed every step of the way. When we reached a turn in the river, we sat down an enjoyed a delicious meal she had prepared for us. Every one should have a friend like my dear friend Kay.
(Click to enlarge). Meadow.
(Click to enlarge). A canopy of foliage.
(Click to enlarge). Attachments.
(Click to enlarge). Fall foliage.
(Click to enlarge). Circles along the way.
(Click to enlarge). River rocks.
(Click to enlarge). The trees and branches surround the river.
(Click to enlarge). My friend Kay basking in the sunlight!
On Friday, I in turn took my nieces and their parents to one of my sacred spaces…the children's room of the Richland County Public Library in downtown Columbia. I love Maurice Sendak's book and mural "WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE," which can be seen by looking over the railing on the first floor of the library or up close and personal on the ground level. Thanks to Columbia native, Augusta Baker, long time children's librarian of the New York Public Library, we're so fortunate to have the only public mural of this work in the nation in our library. If you haven't seen it, you should!
(Click to enlarge). There are some "wild things" at the library.
(Click to enlarge). Reading is a "good thing!"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)