July 28, 2010

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As a child, one of my "heroes of art" was Norman Rockwell. I always remember being mesmerized by Rockwell's ability to capture the human form, seemingly like a photograph. I heeded him as a great talent as a conveyer of emotion in his illustrations and paintings. As a teenager, I collected books of his art and  studied them. By the time I went to art school I started to realize that this type of art was not appreciated much in art circles, but I continued to love his work, despite the resistance!  Loved by the masses but not excepted by the critics. 
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Over the years, I would buy the occasional Norman Rockwell calendar or card deck, still intrigued by his sensibility.
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I hadn't thought much about Norman for years, though the books still sit on my bookshelf. That changed the other day when my brother handed me a New York Times article on Rockwell.
Norman Rockwell's contribution to the art world is being celebrated again. George Lucas and Steven Speilberg are huge fans and collectors, finding the way Rockwell approached his work similar to their craft. I was fascinated to find out that after Rockwell had composed the story behind a picture, he approached his painting in a manner not unlike a director would for a movie. Rockwell would assemble props and stage scenes in his studio. One time he went as far as to borrow seats from actual trains and promptly send them back in the mail when he was done. He wouldn't even draw a wool sock from his imagination, opting for the real thing in front of him.
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It somehow thrills me to hear these details about Rockwell's creative process. Every artist approaches his art in a different way. Some draw from real life, others work with pictures, and some work only from their imagination.  Every artist has subjects that they love and ways they feel they want to represent those subjects. Other artists will only delve into conceptual art, trying to convey a  particular idea in a very different way. No way is wrong; each artist is simply trying to express their thoughts and use their talents.
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Check out the link to the current exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute featuring his work. Have a great day! 
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Karen :)

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Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.     -Henry Ward Beecher

Inspire me wednesdays week 11

Some people get months of vacation, and others get days. 
However much time you get personally, I think it is great to have a list of things to attempt to do in the short summertime! For my son, one thing he has planned to do is watch 60 classic and "required viewing" movies over summer vacation. For others, it may be books or beachtime. I always make a list of things I'd love to do each summer. Here's a sample of my list.

1. Go for a walking tour of my city

2. A day of frisbee and picnicking in the park

3. Make a piece of art out of the things around the house

4. Host a John Turturro film festival

5. Spend a whole day in a bookstore (or library!)

6. Go canoeing

7. bike everywhere week

8. Open a favorite cookbook to a random page and make whatever recipe you turn to
9. Read at least two books

10. Go on a little-known art gallery tour

11. have a "lazy" day of doing absolutely nothing

12. Go mini-golfing with the family

 I may not get to all of them this summer. But that's okay!  If you plan a little bit  and a leave a bit of room for spontaneity, you can't go wrong!


I'd LOVE to hear what's on YOUR list?

Please comment and tell me!

Karen 

July 14, 2010

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Wow! What a great weekend!
I was able to go to the Winnipeg Folk Festival on Sunday and was treated to a day of perfect weather, great company and fantastic musicianship.
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There is nothing like being somewhere where everyone involved is so excited to simply be where they are. It's great to be wrapped up in the enthusiasm and fun!
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My musical highlight was Andrew Bird. I had never heard of him before I saw him at the festival. He is a multi-instrumentalist (firstly a classically trained violinist) who records himself onstage and layers the musical riffs he plays over each other.This performance is intriguing to watch as the song develops. Although he was alone on stage, because of his layering, it sounded like an orchestra was accompanying him. Oh, and he whistles!!! Click here to see his MySpace page.
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Today the Fringe Festival starts and this is another great reason to get downtown and see some great plays, busking and entertainment. One of the greatest times of the year!
Support your local dedicated creators! Get out and join the enthusiasm wherever you are and experience some art!
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Love,
Karen :)

July 7th, 2010

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The Queen of England came to Winnipeg the other day. It was nice to see such a buzz around the city just days after Canada Day.
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As a family, we've always tried to make the effort to join the crowds for big events in the city, such as the Red River Relief Concert, the Pan Am Games activities, and the Olympic Flame. The excitement of the people and the sense of community and togetherness is wonderful.

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My family was one of thousands that made the trip despite sweltering temperatures (and a tornado warning) to see her Majesty; the above is a great picture that my son took of the Queen and Stephen Harper.
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Immediately after the Queen spoke, the rain began to pour. This caused a rather humorous mass exodus from The Forks - although the other entertainment performing may not have felt the same.
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Despite the rain, we decided to walk home. My son even chose to go sans umbrella.

I've always loved the rain - maybe something about it's smell, or the way it paints the things we take for granted new colours, or maybe it's something else. But whatever the case, the rain put us in a different state of mind entirely, and we just enjoyed the moment.

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While we walked, my son stopped and stood in the rain. Next to him, there was one lone circle of mud in an otherwise perfect field of green. Directed by some instinct, he began to plant some seeds that had been handed out to us at the Royal celebrations.

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This really struck me.

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"You just performed a random act of gardening," I said. I liked his spontaneous planting because it had been a constructive, self-generated action. I thought his act was such a positive message to send to the community.

Well, we have been thinking about this R. A. of G. over the days and yesterday we thought we'd Google it. Typing in "Random Acts of Gardening" brought up 382,000 results (apparently we were not the first!) Guerrilla Gardening was invented by a man named Richard Reynolds, who has a YouTube channel devoted to Random Acts of Gardening which you can see by clicking here. We learned that hundreds of people plant things in potholes, abandoned parking lots, and anywhere else that could use a little dose of beauty. It certainly reminded me that there are such interesting and motivated people in this world!

Now that is inspiring!

Karen :)