The Touching Story of an Intriguing Artist

I'm more than a little behind on my movie watching, but yesterday I saw the movie Maudie about Nova Scotia artist Maud Lewis, and I was entranced. Lewis had a difficult life, having rheumatoid arthritis at a very young age, a condition that only worsened with age and poverty. But she apparently had gumption, presenting herself to Everett Lewis when he advertised for a live-in housekeeper. It was a difficult life in more ways than one, but she was a voracious painter of simple things she saw or remembered, and her folk art eventually brought her a small degree of fame (although not much money during her life).

by Daryl Mitchell

I'm sure that at least some of the movie was Hollywoodized. Still, it's a wonderful example of a woman (and an artist) overcoming adversity and shining through.

When Maud was alive, she sold her small painted cards for twenty-five cents each. Last year, one of her paintings sold for $22,000 CDN (a little less than $17,000 USD).

by Ron Cogswell

I was fascinated by the fact that she and her husband lived in a house so tiny (about 12 foot square)  that it was eventually moved inside the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. Maud painted right on the house, the windows and even on the stove.

Here's the trailer to the movie. Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke and Maude and her husband are wonderful (aren't the always?), and I highly recommend the movie. I wish I could find a book on her life, but there are a number of articles about her on the internet.

Here's a link to her page at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and a link to a site with more of her art.

Now I'm off to look for more on Maud Lewis. What an inspiring individual!

Best Wishes,

Myrna

How to Decorate Your Walls on a Budget

I'm not a particularly gifted decorator, but I know what I like, and one thing I like is to make the wall art in my house fluid. I want to be able to change it up now and then. But there's a problem. Art can be expensive. After all, artists have to eat, too.

So I try to utilize a combination of art I've bought directly from the store or from an online shop. Deviant Art is my favorite online shop, but there are others, such as All Posters, Art.com and many others.

But because I want to change things up frequently, I need to save money, and I've found that estate sales, garage sales, rummage sales (especially church and school rummage sales) and thrift stores enable me to buy art at bargain prices. Other people want to change their walls, too, and their castoffs might be my (or your) next wall art find. Here are some of the things I've picked up at such sales (apologies for some of the images. I took them with my camera, and I'm not skilled enough to get rid of the reflections. Where possible, I found a duplicate image online, but that wasn't always possible).

This image doesn't do the art justice. It's actually a poster from the America's Cup 25 in 1983, and there is faint writing on the image. The frame was broken, so we re-framed it.

I believe that this sunflower painting by Anne Worthington was formerly an IKEA item, but we bought it for five dollars at a garage sale.

This one came matted in a gaudy gold frame (there's also writing beneath the image on the matting), and we didn't have the right sized frame, so we cut the matting a bit and re-framed it. I've shown both the original and our framed version (complete with my awful photo with reflection and washed out color).

 This is on Irish Linen, and someone framed it.

A National Park poster (we framed ours, but this is the poster sans frame).

This was originally from IKEA (years ago), but we found it at an estate sale. It's really large.

And this one was from a garage sale in our town. The woman selling it said that it had been her husband's before they got married, and he loved it, but she didn't. She sold it to us (framed) for $10. Not bad.

It's always an adventure at sales, especially estate sales where you can sometimes see the art hanging on the wall. I doubt that we've ever paid more than fifteen dollars for a print (well, maybe twenty for a really large one). That has enabled us to move things around when the mood strikes.

Best wishes,

Myrna

Amazing Origami Art

I've often wanted to try origami, but frankly I'm all thumbs and I don't have the patience required for many of the folds.

But this artist makes origami that is so beautiful that I can't be sorry that I'm unable to create beautiful things out of paper. I'm just glad that people like this exist. Take a look. (I'm also glad that the artist found this helps him find meaning and a purpose to help him deal with his depression).

More incredible origami art:

Enjoy!

Myrna

Sometimes Winter and Snow Can Be Fascinating and Beautiful

Okay, it's mid-February. We've had our share of ice, snow and cold in Chicago, and many (most) of us are counting the days until we see the first crocus poking out of the ground. But today I ran across a few things about winter that made me smile.

This man recreated the Mona Lisa on an ice rink. How awesome is that?

And here's a man who has the job of removing snow from the roofs of the buildings at Yellowstone. It can get pretty deep there, so they use modified saws (long ones, as seen in the video below) to cut the snow into blocks. Then, they pick up the blocks (second video) in a move that almost looks like performance art when the film is sped up.

Winter just got a lot more interesting! Enjoy!

Myrna

How Do You Feel About Trolls?

I'm sure we all remember the scary trolls from fairy tales, but this year I got to see some man made trolls up close. Thomas Dambo, an artist/designer based in Copenhagen, Denmark created a bevy of trolls at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois. These larger than life wooden sculptures were a treat for adults and children alike. There was even a troll camp with huge tools, a shelter, a giant pot, and suspended traps which everyone had fun climbing under.

Yes, my husband talked me into this photo. There was no back on the pot (so no, I didn't have to climb over the side). 

I didn't get to see them being created (I think there were days when one could watch the artist at work), here's a video that shows some of what happened.

For more on the artist, check out the link to his website above.

What fun things have you been up to lately?

Happy adventuring and reading!

Myrna

And Then a Miracle Occurred...

Well, well, well, look who showed up after not posting for ten months! It's a bit like my favorite math cartoon by Sidney Harris, "And then a miracle occurs."

(Which can be purchased here. And here are other cartoons by Harris).

At any rate, it's been quite a year. I've been cocooning, sucking my thumb, reading tons, watching my favorite shows and going for long walks, taking a trip to Austin (yes, the one in Texas), helping with a bathroom tile job and other tasks such as painting walls, doing crossword puzzles with my husband and pretty much any other activities I could think of in order to forget what's happening to the United States (and what we're doing to other countries).

But now and then I would have an idea for something I wanted to share with everyone here, and I would try to remember to file those ideas away in the vault in my subconscious. Unfortunately, it's a faulty vault and most of the ideas have leaked away.

One that didn't was this way to give solar lights a new lease on life. I have a sunflower solar light that had gone dark, and we thought we were going to have to toss it. The trouble was that the solar collector had gotten cloudy and couldn't do its job. The simple solution (found online, of course) was to apply clear nail polish to renew the collector. I didn't have any of that, but we had some varnish. I have to say that I was skeptical, but miracle of miracles, that really did the trick. Now we're back in business with a bright sunflower every night. So yes, "and then a miracle occurred..."

Have a great day! Enjoy the sunshine (if you have any), and as always, happy reading!

Best Wishes,

Myrna Mackenzie

Draw Your Hand in 3D? I Love It!

When I first saw this posted on one of my favorite sites, I thought that it would be fun to watch but not actually doable. But...surprise! I could actually do this. Anyone can!

Enjoy!

Myrna

Art by Yayoi Kusama

I was watching a BBC News broadcast the other day, and they did a piece on the Infinity Rooms by Yayoi Kusama. These are part of an experiential art exhibit at the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C..

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The rooms are apparently smaller than they appear, and I love the appearance of endless space. Interesting!

I Could Watch These Food Art Videos for Hours...(Part 2)

In addition to the edible gelatin art in the first part of this series, there are also all kinds of cake and cookie art (I call it art. Some may just call it decorating).

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How about these? Aren't they gorgeous?

Or...these marbled cookies are so pretty, and it's fun to watch her take these from plain cookies to intricate works of art.

This next cookie is simply amazing. I could never even consider undertaking anything like this, but I just couldn't look away until she was completely done decorating the cookie. 

If you'd like to see more, click through on both the second and the third video (above), and you'll find that the artists have more videos.

Enjoy!

Myrna

Food as Art

I used to follow a blog called Raspberri Cupcakes because the author's baked goods were so beautiful they were almost works of art (or maybe actually works of art). Unfortunately, she's not blogging anymore, but all of her recipes are still there. I highly recommend you click over there. Each recipe is more lovely than the next, and she took great photos as well. Back in 2012 I once did a blog post on her Purple Ombre Sprinkles Cake and she gave me permission to post the photo. Check that post out here. And here's another of her baked goods, a Creative Commons photo from Flickr:

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These are raspberry swirl cupcakes, and you can find the recipe here.

Another couple I followed was a husband/wife team who have a company called Tiger in a Jar and they made (make? I assume they're still in business) amazing and very pretty videos, some of which are about food. The most recent one I can find is, unfortunately, a Vimeo video with restrictions on embedding, so I can only provide the link for the Pumpkin Bread Pudding recipe, but here's an old favorite, Beet Cake.

And then there's also this video where 3 teams of chefs attempt to create works of art with food:

What fun! Enjoy!

Mural Art and the Walldogs

Recently I was in Delavan, Wisconsin during the week when the Walldogs were there. If you're wondering what Walldogs are, historically (dating back to around the 1880's, I believe) they were (are?) people who paint signs or advertising on buildings or barns. Coca Cola famously began hiring artists to pay businesses to let them paint advertising on their buildings beginning around 1895 and continuing through the mid-twentieth century.

The trend gave way to other types of advertising, but in recent years this type of mural painting has returned and become a movement. From my somewhat limited perspective (this was my first time to see these), the Walldog experience is something that brings a community together, attracts tourists, and is simply fun. The Walldogs spend several days in a town, and at the end of the week, there are all these awesome murals which remain for people to enjoy (these days they're not about advertising, and from what I could see, they're more about commemorating the history and highlights of the town.

Delavan, Wisconsin is known for numerous things. It has a lovely lake, There are six Frank Lloyd Wright houses and a boathouse on the lake there, and there are many vacation homes. But (besides the lake and vacation fun) two things that Delavan is probably most noted for is The Wisconsin School for the Deaf (founded in 1852) and circus history.

Between 1847 and 1894 circus performers from over 26 circuses called Delavan their winter quarters (the pastures and water available there were good for the circuses' most valuable assets, their horses and other animals). The P.T. Barnum Circus, known as The Greatest Show on Earth was founded here in 1871. There are several colorful statues of circus animals in the middle of the town to commemorate this bit of history, so when the Walldogs came to town, it was clear that at least one mural would be circus-oriented.  But there was more, as you can see from these few photos we managed to take.

There were a number of others we didn't get to see (there were a total of 18 murals, and we had to leave early, so we didn't get to see the completed projects, either), but we'll be back another day. They're going to add a clear finish to them to make them last, and I've been told that with luck, they'll be good for 25 years. In the meantime, here's a link to an image gallery with more of the process and the completed murals. We spoke with people who have become Walldog painters (whole families are involved) and it looks like fun!

Here's a video of some of the artists at work:

And here's the Walldogs site where you can read more about the movement, find out how to get the Walldogs to come to your town, and locate some of the other places they've been where the murals are still there for people to enjoy.


Right now I have an urge to visit more of the towns where the Walldogs have left their mark.

Yarn Bombing in Riverside, Illinois

The Village of Riverside, Illinois is best known for the fact that it was the first planned model community in the United States and that the architect of those plans was Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed Central Park, the campus of Stanford University, the gardens of the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina and the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, among other places. The village has curving streets, green parkways and antique-style gas lit street lanterns as well as many beautiful and unique homes. After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 when the city was in ruins, Riverside was the last stop on the Burlington Northern Railroad line, and many people moved there.

I grew up in neighboring towns, but as a child Riverside was the place I wanted to live when I grew up and became rich (still waiting). I frequently rode my bicycle down its winding streets and got lost more than a few times (but since it's a relatively small town--population of less than 9,000--I quickly found my way back to the main street, Longcommon). It's a pretty place for a stroll or a ride.

The other day I visited a restaurant there and afterwards went for a walk. The village had just had an art fair and as part of the fair they had asked local knitters to take part in a project to wrap the light poles in the downtown area in art. Here are a few examples, taken during my stroll (there were many more). 

I also happened across this sheltered building by the train station. How awesome that they've repurposed it as a bicycle shelter (at least I assume that it is repurposed. I can't imagine that it was built for this function). 

Have a wonderful day!

Myrna

In Awe of the Artists

I'm getting ready to re-release a book I wrote some time ago (and that was published some time ago), but that I now have the rights back to. It's been a long process for me, in part because I was so nervous about it that I edited it almost all the way through, then put it away. For an entire year (or more).

That was foolish. It was a book that was published a long time ago, but I'm proud of it and it was well received, even winning an award, so recently I picked it up again and edited it again. And again. I added an epilogue and a short love scene. I'm renaming it, because I wasn't overly fond of the original title. It's become a very exciting process, and now that I'm on the verge of publishing it as an ebook, I've spent the past week looking at book cover artists' websites.

Coincidentally, this morning I ran across Mark Crilley's latest time lapse, which is so appropriate, since it's a couple kissing. I love watching this man draw. Amazing. Watch.

I am in awe of people who first of all, are able to visualize an image and then actually have the skills to create that image with shadows and light and all the details that bring that vision to life. So here's a shout out to all of the artists out there. I am grateful for your talent and extremely grateful that you share that talent with the rest of us. 

As for me and my book, I'm on to the next step: learning how to format an ebook. I'm going to try to do it from scratch, and HTML is involved. I'm still a bit of a novice in that area. I know enough to be able to tweak things on this blog, but not enough to always realize what I've done wrong when I make a mistake. So, it's going to be a learning process. Wish me luck.

If You've Ever Used Microsoft Paint...You'll Be Amazed at This

Now and then, I break out Microsoft Paint when I need to make a sign or something very simple. I'm sure that true artists or simply people who have the patience to learn how to use this tool (which hasn't changed much over the years) can do a lot more with it than I can. Still, this image of Santa Claus created on Microsoft Paint by Eclectic Asylum Art is so detailed that I'm astounded (and in awe of the artist).

And in case you missed the video of the Mona Lisa in Microsoft Paint (also by Eclectic Asylum Art) from last May, here it is:

Marchello Barenghi Draws a Truly Realistic Looking Lightbulb

I always love watching artists demonstrate their talents. I could watch drawing and painting shows on television for hours if I had the time. So YouTube has proven to be a treasure chest of artistic delights for someone like me.

Marcello Barenghi is an artist who has posted numerous videos online of himself going through his process. There are videos of him drawing amazingly realistic everyday objects such as a fried egg, a boiled egg, a Pepsi can, a bag of potato chips, a bee, an amethyst, a Granturismo, a Snickers bar, a bottle cap, a rose and more.

Here he draws a lightbulb that looks so real you'd swear you could pick it up. Enjoy!

Visit Marcello Barenghi's website to see more of his art and read about his process (it's actually a very cool website). 

Living in a Work of Art

I've done other posts on small living spaces (or books about living in small spaces), but this one, sent to me by a family member who knows what I like, is more unique than most. I was astounded by this man's ability to adapt to living in a cube, a work of art, in one of the most heavily populated parts of the country. You have to see the inside of this to believe it. Amazing!

This got me thinking about space and about how much room I really need to live and what things I would have to have in order to feel comfortable. Interesting. 

If You Come to Chicago...Fashion in Art and...

The city of Chicago has many fine museums. Today, let's look at two of them which have fashion-related displays.

The Art Institute of Chicago currently has an exhibition on Fashion in Impressionism (and if you can't get here, visit the website for a bit more).

The Chicago History Museum has the second largest costume collection in the world. They also have other fine exhibits and a wonderful research center. 

Here's an (older) video on the museum's costume collection:

Art in Borgloon (Belgium)

I was thumbing through an architecture magazine the other day and came across a photo of this structure.

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Another view

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The sculpture, shaped like a church (which exists a short and visible distance away) is titled "Reading Between the Lines" because it's made from layers of steel which, depending on the angle one is viewing it from, make it appear to be a solid mass or a structure one can see through. It is apparently situated in (or near?) an orchard, and you can view some other beautiful images of the structure at this site (the view looking up into the ceiling is stunning). 

Here is a very brief video of the structure being built (no audio):

If you'd like to see an image of the structure with its real-life church in the distance, there's an excellent article with images here. 

It's located in rural Borgloon in the Limburg region of Belgium, and this is also in the vicinity.

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And this:

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All of these are part of the Z33 Art Centre's Art in the Public Space program.

The structures below, the work of Dré Wapenaar, are tree tents where you can spend the night.

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I believe that the duck (below) has been deflated (not positive about that). Still, there appears to be lots of fun art in the area. I think I may have to add something new to my bucket list.

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Thoughts on Creative Careers

I've posted numerous writing articles on this blog, but I don't believe I've ever posted a video about the writing life. This one, however, is just too good, too true, and it applies to all kinds of creative activities, not just writing. In fact, although it is directed toward people who want creative careers, it holds true for wanting to do anything, creative or otherwise, career or not, that might be difficult.

If You Were/Are a Tetris Fan

You may find this stop-motion chalk art drawing of a Tetris game fun.