Contemporary Craft

Pittsburgh's Society for Contemporary Craft is a jewel in our fair city, highlighting contemporary work made from traditional craft materials through exhibits, a lovely little shop, and education programs.  Here's a glimpse at what is currently on view:

Ladderbackkcabreddal #1, wood, by Tom Loeser

Gentleman's 'C' (Brooch), sterling silver, by Christina Y. Smith

Happy birthday, Vincent Van Gogh!

Today is the birthday of my first favorite artist, Vincent Van Gogh (born March 30, 1853).  His colors and his life have been a significant influence on me.   

As a birthday tribute, here are some snippets from his prolific letter-writing that I've paired with some of his paintings:

One must work and dare if one really wants to live.

Love many things, for therein lies true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.

If one is master of one thing and understands one thing well, one has at the same time, insight into many things.

I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.

Conscience is a man's compass.

But I always think that the best way to know God is to love many things.

For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.

wild and wavering

Snow Storm - Steamboat off a Harbour's Mouth by JMW Turner

"The world's not wanton, only wild and wavering." -- Adrienne Rich

The Red Rose Girls

One of my most cherished art books is The Red Rose Girls by Alice Carter. It tells the stories of three remarkable female artists who were prominent forces in the Golden Age of Illustration: Jessie Wilcox Smith, Violet Oakley, and Elizabeth Shippen Green. They studied together under Howard Pyle, and then set up a residence together in a country house called the Red Rose Inn where art became a way of life.


June, 1902, by Violet Oakley


The Thousand Quilt, 1904, by Elizabeth Shippen Green


Morning, 1902, by Jessie Wilcox Smith

Maya Lin

Maya Lin, the creator of the Vietnam Memorial, has a new exhibit at the Corcoran called Systematic Landscapes. It is up through July 12. There is a video preview that records the installation of one of her sculptural landscapes on the Corcoran's web site, as well as a nice description of the artist and the exhibit:

http://www.corcoran.org/mayalin/

Maya Lin and 2x4 Landscape

Frank King

(click image to enlarge)
Frank King's Gasoline Alley
Chicago Sunday Tribune, November 4, 1928

In his comic Gasoline Alley, Frank King acknowledged the perfect art of nature through his autumn walk Sunday pages. Uncle Walt tells Skeezits, "I want you to grow up with an eye for the beauty about you. It's a source of much joy."

Einstein on imagination

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." - Albert Einstein

(The Albert Einstein Memorial, Washington D.C., sculpted by Robert Berks)

Happy Einstein's Birthday!