tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58309004569476924872024-03-16T11:51:45.665-07:00ARTWACHCommentaries and critiques on the visual and performing arts in the greater Canton, Ohio areaTom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.comBlogger844125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-60585172754876539802024-02-21T12:39:00.000-08:002024-02-21T12:39:58.945-08:00Insightful Incisions<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Insightful
Incisions </b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQuGHUIP4tGLnDeJFNG-MDPhD6fYMJNoBro2Hned0KKsE7TDrSEQNvDD4uXR-2WTOGyVOP9CfVOB3lMJeig6E6VHys1cfXuvjA9i67QYdcHyLQtoZI86xnGQdB5U7oLwvN5qz4f5DiO14u5ZIz5AoMJq3BmrzILYohguBvwomhGpnGeOZnbnNHlF2oE8A/s4608/DSCN3698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQuGHUIP4tGLnDeJFNG-MDPhD6fYMJNoBro2Hned0KKsE7TDrSEQNvDD4uXR-2WTOGyVOP9CfVOB3lMJeig6E6VHys1cfXuvjA9i67QYdcHyLQtoZI86xnGQdB5U7oLwvN5qz4f5DiO14u5ZIz5AoMJq3BmrzILYohguBvwomhGpnGeOZnbnNHlF2oE8A/s320/DSCN3698.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGB_FxvujfzZp0DvT4EKI8P-e5QXjEoDCeTzHVd_6bTvUYSi53tlvgAM8weoUSArRzsSeUX941o0MoaFGuUHkCpNv1V4Fw0rIYs26crTpsuMRR6oVbHCIp9I40gXJ0wo5Af6akP88Zs48Tuhj7QBraex0vmFfGqM7SC_wc4w_g4Tiktc2XJpxtILJop0g/s1080/Meryl-Engler-Best-in-Show-New-Masters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="815" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGB_FxvujfzZp0DvT4EKI8P-e5QXjEoDCeTzHVd_6bTvUYSi53tlvgAM8weoUSArRzsSeUX941o0MoaFGuUHkCpNv1V4Fw0rIYs26crTpsuMRR6oVbHCIp9I40gXJ0wo5Af6akP88Zs48Tuhj7QBraex0vmFfGqM7SC_wc4w_g4Tiktc2XJpxtILJop0g/s320/Meryl-Engler-Best-in-Show-New-Masters.jpg" width="241" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Every Year They Grow From Nothing</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlrT2Qy1_ZCypOGz-_rKfgmJart4X-9h25Cz7eXE0NsXxU99bJq9cBGOYbjpAHCqcqY0Y72eUmyX7afn5aczc8q0_VEgihjDmY5uIGsmjeSfdZ8KItT7CFn27j04LVUYliQPV3OLVVSNXwn78N-qAp3kqSwFVScJzzKC1Pj3FCZKAsFAtA0a98dCh4oB0/s4608/DSCN3687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlrT2Qy1_ZCypOGz-_rKfgmJart4X-9h25Cz7eXE0NsXxU99bJq9cBGOYbjpAHCqcqY0Y72eUmyX7afn5aczc8q0_VEgihjDmY5uIGsmjeSfdZ8KItT7CFn27j04LVUYliQPV3OLVVSNXwn78N-qAp3kqSwFVScJzzKC1Pj3FCZKAsFAtA0a98dCh4oB0/s320/DSCN3687.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When I Become A Tree</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFc5bq6PYXW3So8GoIJ70AfqDQhKDZ4-exiM0Rwfh6CvSS5y9yOrmVXSVVorqTaNoLh7MuAs3p-rEo8AzL4aymCWnow33WdMbj59kOoZ0CUbhHe390M67xeAqtZr4tJyw96w4IiBG9e6Y7mRn-5AkOMh9MdybofwkrFwjQaZxOQOA4TrxJcG2YyFq4F4s/s3450/DSCN3688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3450" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFc5bq6PYXW3So8GoIJ70AfqDQhKDZ4-exiM0Rwfh6CvSS5y9yOrmVXSVVorqTaNoLh7MuAs3p-rEo8AzL4aymCWnow33WdMbj59kOoZ0CUbhHe390M67xeAqtZr4tJyw96w4IiBG9e6Y7mRn-5AkOMh9MdybofwkrFwjQaZxOQOA4TrxJcG2YyFq4F4s/s320/DSCN3688.JPG" width="285" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When I Become A Tree In Fall (detail)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5BfLoivQ1gjYt1nrmFmLEdfDwj2XjdTAtl6N8nBRyLpahGyV6zehUq42cGee9PwEZAXL-5aPn2al7AaWKs96Ejlz1bigOtNPOTevGhAvvGq0CGupjlWUk-Cjrh84Y1jQtf0UYF2Rjbst-Zluw6YKJVjFXHuuSwhOTvk2rZhmkD7DXZYyy5tlAv04QbRs/s4608/DSCN3689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="2823" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5BfLoivQ1gjYt1nrmFmLEdfDwj2XjdTAtl6N8nBRyLpahGyV6zehUq42cGee9PwEZAXL-5aPn2al7AaWKs96Ejlz1bigOtNPOTevGhAvvGq0CGupjlWUk-Cjrh84Y1jQtf0UYF2Rjbst-Zluw6YKJVjFXHuuSwhOTvk2rZhmkD7DXZYyy5tlAv04QbRs/s320/DSCN3689.JPG" width="196" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When I Become A Tree / Taking Off</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9tzl-0dirtd7lXcd-jk5ZzLXiGjEn3BCilyBbnb31uEoFe8qL9d_lfYrRFwZnuzrqy2b11u1OcnRYr1CBMOE9O3SjEcV4fielMPewWxTyHcyUBOwpKx6wQbVHk1kz34Q2X2wkeqN7HAGWqGSGRhYeVQOB1Msw1NoXG83dBescbjLA2BUWJnTDzvam8U0/s4608/DSCN3692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2734" data-original-width="4608" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9tzl-0dirtd7lXcd-jk5ZzLXiGjEn3BCilyBbnb31uEoFe8qL9d_lfYrRFwZnuzrqy2b11u1OcnRYr1CBMOE9O3SjEcV4fielMPewWxTyHcyUBOwpKx6wQbVHk1kz34Q2X2wkeqN7HAGWqGSGRhYeVQOB1Msw1NoXG83dBescbjLA2BUWJnTDzvam8U0/s320/DSCN3692.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lying In Red</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4UnMzCF2JvOtPiY-AAfIWDW12KH5gJdftJvSJgNx4GpCro49YGXNccjBDlowsXTHJCAhGg5Dl-LYzfBbeoV7MFG89EudGtZpb7-Ph9MUd1jA-fuRaALrSTVCSwOvb6rElnpLufl7bVb2uv_Otn1r2duxRJhfOplfFpcjqRcdObX3PCYWWu4mQe3RBjc/s3863/DSCN3693.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3863" data-original-width="2501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4UnMzCF2JvOtPiY-AAfIWDW12KH5gJdftJvSJgNx4GpCro49YGXNccjBDlowsXTHJCAhGg5Dl-LYzfBbeoV7MFG89EudGtZpb7-Ph9MUd1jA-fuRaALrSTVCSwOvb6rElnpLufl7bVb2uv_Otn1r2duxRJhfOplfFpcjqRcdObX3PCYWWu4mQe3RBjc/s320/DSCN3693.JPG" width="207" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When I Become A Tree Aflame</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0iuO_ZMl1vXz-zltSpBzadhQl7XCXDZuMFOx1Ltx-QXca-IgO01yxje6C7w0MDml0x9SWuN_URx0mEFDXLq_4mPK9fiBI6gJTu2LeB9vPvSJ3r5uvKFk8B-IF9mDM7sAm_N3FKUSGE1yjx-HOfiEkCv4ag49neAhQT0vTLb7tVNTwJQk8PZ3LJ784gTg/s4608/DSCN3695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0iuO_ZMl1vXz-zltSpBzadhQl7XCXDZuMFOx1Ltx-QXca-IgO01yxje6C7w0MDml0x9SWuN_URx0mEFDXLq_4mPK9fiBI6gJTu2LeB9vPvSJ3r5uvKFk8B-IF9mDM7sAm_N3FKUSGE1yjx-HOfiEkCv4ag49neAhQT0vTLb7tVNTwJQk8PZ3LJ784gTg/s320/DSCN3695.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I Thought I Was Supporting You #3</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By Tom Wachunas </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>“… Woodcut is incredibly physical and energetic, but
also requires a level of intimacy and care in carving each mark. The resulting
work is subtle, careful and rash, reflecting my own state of being as the
artist…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></b>- Meryl Engler <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">From Merriam-Webster: Catharsis (kə-<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">ˈ</span>th<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">ä</span>r-səs)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">a: purification or purgation of the emotions (such as pity
and fear) primarily through art<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">b: a purification or purgation that brings about spiritual
renewal or release from tension<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>EXHIBIT</b>: <i>I Had Been Young Vol. 2 – woodcut prints
by Meryl Engler / </i><b>THROUGH MARCH 1, 2024, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>at The Lemmon Visiting Artist Gallery, in
the Fine Arts Building at Kent State University at Stark, 6000 FRANK AVENUE NW,
NORTH CANTON, OH / Gallery hours Monday – Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">About the artist: Meryl Engler grew up in Huntington Beach,
California and moved to Akron, Ohio in fall 2019.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meryl attended Syracuse University where she
studied sculpture, printmaking, religious studies and history, while also competing
on the women’s rowing team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next she
went to graduate school at University of Nebraska-Lincoln for studio art with
an emphasis in printmaking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is
where she developed her love of colorful woodcut prints, often using pattern
and repetition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is inspired by
hidden landscapes in our environment and the relationships we form to it and
each other. In 2022 she started working at the Morgan Conservatory and learned
Eastern and Western papermaking techniques and now incorporates papermaking
into her print work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has shown both
nationally and internationally...<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">********************************************************** <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In her statement
for this exhibit, Engler writes that in this latest series of prints, <i>“…I
felt compelled to delve into my personal narrative…using self-portraiture,
herons that symbolize messengers of change and transformation, quilts to
portray nurture and caring, and one very peculiar tree…” <o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>That tree
had been growing through a few seasons in, of all unlikely places, a parking
lot - a location, she surmised, annoying to “most people” - near her Akron
residence. Yet she came to see it as a unique symbol of her own growth and
change.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mesmerizing in their complex patterns and
linearities, Engler’s images are at once crowded and airy. Breathtaking and
breath-giving. Lines of varying densities harmonize and seem to breathe as they
rise and spread outward from tight clusters of foliate shapes. Her mark-making
has a calligraphic sort of elegance about it, as if the imagery wasn’t carved
so much as written in cursive style. Further, Engler’s incorporation of color
imbues many of her images with a diaphanous light you might well call palpable
magic. Nowhere is all this dazzling intimacy and intricacy more commanding than
in the sheer ambitious scale of several monumental prints mounted on the
gallery’s longest wall. They’re eight feet tall! Talk about wild grace…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The marvelous
fluidity and exactitude of these meticulous renderings is absolutely entrancing.
Insightful. Insiteful. They’re incised with all the skilled precision of a
surgeon’s scalpel. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so they do indeed
cut to the heart, as it were, of a beautiful personal catharsis.<o:p></o:p></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-41559047000847512882024-01-11T07:44:00.000-08:002024-01-11T07:44:38.533-08:00Making a list, checking it twice - PART 2<p> </p><div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Making a list, checking it twice…</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigcnRc3QfwkuXXOIkmwlcU07txeJg4WpKR4TndW3gf41a-okWb_XyyN4TziXvaWcdeG1x3XwgNrbANVng0UJ1noarsY7p3r2PgGg6MH0r6hTR5uiuo7SgogsTCe0sLLUuVXm5Kk2UN1GEFZKeQ64na8UDvwmqcHlZpqyUCBSjlMyjNikGXZBFRBWinoN4/s3456/DSCN3664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3014" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigcnRc3QfwkuXXOIkmwlcU07txeJg4WpKR4TndW3gf41a-okWb_XyyN4TziXvaWcdeG1x3XwgNrbANVng0UJ1noarsY7p3r2PgGg6MH0r6hTR5uiuo7SgogsTCe0sLLUuVXm5Kk2UN1GEFZKeQ64na8UDvwmqcHlZpqyUCBSjlMyjNikGXZBFRBWinoN4/s320/DSCN3664.JPG" width="279" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>What was...what could've been...now" </i><b>by Christine Janson</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTkNkaOknxyZjxQ645NoxllAFu1RqPrkBj06Qq4PRdHVYvhzVszjwJeMzS5zBATA49PnXnXqHlpCek5d8y08xvSuIWdyJ42uG_XuoNhNTk1TMGOqMo5JukLZRx8DAXzUoIYr6Crf428a5Ivhg7cwlJOyV5Tb-gejYTCZTo91ECx_5d_3VEVP-RJa3yUc/s645/dream%20crusher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="499" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTkNkaOknxyZjxQ645NoxllAFu1RqPrkBj06Qq4PRdHVYvhzVszjwJeMzS5zBATA49PnXnXqHlpCek5d8y08xvSuIWdyJ42uG_XuoNhNTk1TMGOqMo5JukLZRx8DAXzUoIYr6Crf428a5Ivhg7cwlJOyV5Tb-gejYTCZTo91ECx_5d_3VEVP-RJa3yUc/s320/dream%20crusher.jpg" width="248" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dream Crusher, </i><b>by Emily Orsich</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxIccu8OTUCl4SzS08Pv-EgIGO9CnIUmp3lZ1PMrLxXIsWgZ8VV6n_lFjYRMBT3nvkbfmSuV8ddYlLnAZiXBWQ8zfoTwSw_JjcnweU2miaPtZb_qT-q3BuJOqOP1j-QflGF8RhiHovj8XoK_iKFnZO75lqFzzqgLM1rgmAP7rR0rXNYeKZAsLlpPvBHM/s4608/DSCN3662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxIccu8OTUCl4SzS08Pv-EgIGO9CnIUmp3lZ1PMrLxXIsWgZ8VV6n_lFjYRMBT3nvkbfmSuV8ddYlLnAZiXBWQ8zfoTwSw_JjcnweU2miaPtZb_qT-q3BuJOqOP1j-QflGF8RhiHovj8XoK_iKFnZO75lqFzzqgLM1rgmAP7rR0rXNYeKZAsLlpPvBHM/s320/DSCN3662.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cathedral, </i><b>by Steve Ehret</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYYlw7pSpm9I-pp9kuKgR_LTistH67bCC_6ZnUDS0_AptSzf8R2HbuvU8eqk4-7199ttx04Uj8_GUMAXt7_3KRoXnWHIUDI34BhMpaWhIFUVN2dqL0QXKb8qm5AhpNy3_bMXtHafvcuOmanHn6gfrGw4DYCSG58vwFbdTm9NBzmZWuWO43hwxWqftcz-4/s4608/DSCN3638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYYlw7pSpm9I-pp9kuKgR_LTistH67bCC_6ZnUDS0_AptSzf8R2HbuvU8eqk4-7199ttx04Uj8_GUMAXt7_3KRoXnWHIUDI34BhMpaWhIFUVN2dqL0QXKb8qm5AhpNy3_bMXtHafvcuOmanHn6gfrGw4DYCSG58vwFbdTm9NBzmZWuWO43hwxWqftcz-4/s320/DSCN3638.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Salt and Peppa, </i><b>by Patricia Zinsmeister Parker</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIPi8u3lB5xrC0vcRI45-9W-BiL6wZqMqMIzjwmyDP9VyXQ37alVJgPO0w7gT5Sb5P0j684MaygE_eqeSdmCrqRXnZzHaqZly9CmjJRttEIOvOQp8MpD7j2O4FarueEyB8WJaiyqX3ObihP1Bb82_4cfvTF1ejFBX4QX5h1uqHRBIMMgzkBws6048k49w/s4608/DSCN3640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIPi8u3lB5xrC0vcRI45-9W-BiL6wZqMqMIzjwmyDP9VyXQ37alVJgPO0w7gT5Sb5P0j684MaygE_eqeSdmCrqRXnZzHaqZly9CmjJRttEIOvOQp8MpD7j2O4FarueEyB8WJaiyqX3ObihP1Bb82_4cfvTF1ejFBX4QX5h1uqHRBIMMgzkBws6048k49w/s320/DSCN3640.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Polaron II, </i><b>by David L. Kuntzman</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVYP7BFmKtd651zHDfl2ZKFbobn4YBxNL9VLPZ_F1mc3OOHPN9bIsW4QPJTJ8zFDzVPMjOCPETnQ0fB0Nt-aD-BQW1sQa0my9SD8lt7R4CuIe8ucLPoS-O4p7D224MMveaOX5cYnELFVA9tAQNAdfcxFDXCKKTXlXDrXBDLe1PgQ2oJUnNzy3xnLWVbBk/s4608/DSCN3641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVYP7BFmKtd651zHDfl2ZKFbobn4YBxNL9VLPZ_F1mc3OOHPN9bIsW4QPJTJ8zFDzVPMjOCPETnQ0fB0Nt-aD-BQW1sQa0my9SD8lt7R4CuIe8ucLPoS-O4p7D224MMveaOX5cYnELFVA9tAQNAdfcxFDXCKKTXlXDrXBDLe1PgQ2oJUnNzy3xnLWVbBk/s320/DSCN3641.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Momma Remembers, </i><b>by Judi Krew</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3XmreesQDcTqQCN7pWiu5Clu-wkU7jCml97DL21lCGDRucLqABdUPbeLYl9RxGjX7BLeSdV-RQiLhMPAtliG91QpxiaUyDDf-0NQC_tIQxOflVGdxBSBeSVCZu56QZg9RcairvF18KPWaWUpI1HmmcWB5abaCrSAnegyRpGnaY-Hmw9PcTAwPX7x1KvA/s4171/DSCN3637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4171" data-original-width="3205" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3XmreesQDcTqQCN7pWiu5Clu-wkU7jCml97DL21lCGDRucLqABdUPbeLYl9RxGjX7BLeSdV-RQiLhMPAtliG91QpxiaUyDDf-0NQC_tIQxOflVGdxBSBeSVCZu56QZg9RcairvF18KPWaWUpI1HmmcWB5abaCrSAnegyRpGnaY-Hmw9PcTAwPX7x1KvA/s320/DSCN3637.JPG" width="246" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Windows from the Ukraine, </i><b>by Lou Camerato</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">PART 2<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">by Tom Wachunas <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Judging art is like caging a bird. Instead of seeing it soar, you can
only watch it flutter.” </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">— Ron
Brackin</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Taste is the best judge. It is rare. Art only addresses itself to an
excessively small number of individuals.” </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">— Paul Cezanne<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">EXHIBIT: Stark County Artists Exhibition / at Massillon Museum Aultman
Health Foundation Gallery, </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">THROUGH
JANUARY 14, 2024</b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> / 121 Lincoln Way
East, downtown Massillon, Ohio / Phone: 330-833-4061 / Tuesday through Saturday
9:30am - 5:00pm, Sunday 2:00pm - 5:00pm<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><a href="https://www.massillonmuseum.org/home/exhibits/current-museum-exhibits"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">https://www.massillonmuseum.org/home/exhibits/current-museum-exhibits</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shall we make like jurors and
play a game of favorites?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was a bit disappointed when I
learned that the artworks I submitted for this annual contest – er, uhm,
exhibition - were not accepted by the jurors. I didn’t make the team, as it
were, of 52 artists who were selected, and I certainly congratulate them. As
one of 91 rejects, I can only guess as to why exactly the jurors deemed my work
unseeworthy. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As it is, I never gave much if
any credence to establishing a hierarchy of monetary awards in group shows such
as this -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Best in Show, 2<sup>nd</sup>
place, 3d place, then down to a few “Honorable Mention” certificates. Why not
simply consider having art chosen for exhibition as sufficient-enough award?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To engage the practice of tiered
prizes is to dive down a rabbit hole of questions and motives. As a society in
the 21<sup>st</sup> century, for better or worse, we have no indisputably true
map or absolute rule book for navigating that most complex of human terrains we
have come to call <i>subjectivity. </i>Or better yet, in this context, <i>aesthetic</i>
<i>taste.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With only a few days left to see
this show, here’s a reminder that Massillon Museum has provided ballots for
viewers to cast a vote for the “People’s Choice Award.” It will be announced
shortly after the exhibit ends. Meanwhile, I offer here some pics of works I
found to be particularly compelling, and indeed honorable, as I fluttered
through my rabbit hole of opinion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-13200847211386234892023-12-25T13:42:00.000-08:002023-12-25T13:42:44.751-08:00Making a list, checking it twice...<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Making a list,
checking it twice…<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKgv0Qq6b6R-uhmuwns5XLODccOCoB49HN-1JftbhmhS76EKWrRvQgGPk0uWjp0UZEDjfj0BzJBC0wS_4c2skmZ_fdQXHLwc4rFPB3-mqxFNfN6yC0DFClom7pizVnNeJJdXuazNmKRPo-4OPQL9bGX0zpd4AFWN44mJkv5ypdHFwmlap4F8G2bZYnIZE/s1080/bare%20feet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKgv0Qq6b6R-uhmuwns5XLODccOCoB49HN-1JftbhmhS76EKWrRvQgGPk0uWjp0UZEDjfj0BzJBC0wS_4c2skmZ_fdQXHLwc4rFPB3-mqxFNfN6yC0DFClom7pizVnNeJJdXuazNmKRPo-4OPQL9bGX0zpd4AFWN44mJkv5ypdHFwmlap4F8G2bZYnIZE/s320/bare%20feet.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>bare feet, </i>by Jessica Morton</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPrireUXwxNfBg8qkb9D9Fabp_hhNFL95yJfXejcLReYEIOr3hD-paCQHbNOcLrOnhvCMaoETGm7xxMNuTu5ujBuzihbHZHu7bxGGZ-aE9dWFTK4I9sabaI_o8SQj8SCzjYzcMn9DK81KngcJ1FtFvE6R_7cnxBkLR6rC81p16JQePqEXBlR6YpDSE0s/s1350/bad%20believer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPrireUXwxNfBg8qkb9D9Fabp_hhNFL95yJfXejcLReYEIOr3hD-paCQHbNOcLrOnhvCMaoETGm7xxMNuTu5ujBuzihbHZHu7bxGGZ-aE9dWFTK4I9sabaI_o8SQj8SCzjYzcMn9DK81KngcJ1FtFvE6R_7cnxBkLR6rC81p16JQePqEXBlR6YpDSE0s/s320/bad%20believer.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Bad Believer, </i> by Alex Strader</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd4oQy6xuurRm_cTa_eOCDZy0NlCqcVwvQ-7QFfPTKSkAcXebEp5bIi_VZCj-GsHQQt8b9ymIYwHJoS8tnD_6SBmyk5Q4BO7UdaNvyHLXMSBS8BHXP73QVYcHycr09ZpYJ2UvXOsWvvy-NJJ5Athbtq7j7x-9fLMPXBmFaJcgPTYr5nK65mBhXo9SZdRY/s1808/under%20siege.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1808" data-original-width="1195" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd4oQy6xuurRm_cTa_eOCDZy0NlCqcVwvQ-7QFfPTKSkAcXebEp5bIi_VZCj-GsHQQt8b9ymIYwHJoS8tnD_6SBmyk5Q4BO7UdaNvyHLXMSBS8BHXP73QVYcHycr09ZpYJ2UvXOsWvvy-NJJ5Athbtq7j7x-9fLMPXBmFaJcgPTYr5nK65mBhXo9SZdRY/s320/under%20siege.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Under Siege, </i>by Sally Priscilla Lytle</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh278LoC2SC8rne0ZcDCoCy-RAs_ErI5kkbfb4-5e9Dtt4FhjBShno5DpP-TfBBq6Yx9rGXefO1F1rnoRptBGl-SVjnzrue51Rtv0FCQnDY8jsGxLjzJ-NYwbiDi0tOZT6QDr0gTLefwG6hZ46Ff7sYAr7ZdEhN6oiWIAOOwLlqAlV3EVe8XOUmFCdL-Q8/s1440/last%20cowboy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1150" data-original-width="1440" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh278LoC2SC8rne0ZcDCoCy-RAs_ErI5kkbfb4-5e9Dtt4FhjBShno5DpP-TfBBq6Yx9rGXefO1F1rnoRptBGl-SVjnzrue51Rtv0FCQnDY8jsGxLjzJ-NYwbiDi0tOZT6QDr0gTLefwG6hZ46Ff7sYAr7ZdEhN6oiWIAOOwLlqAlV3EVe8XOUmFCdL-Q8/s320/last%20cowboy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Last Cowboy, </i>by Todd Bergert</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNs7lTj2dxE4haCHpd1xND3_Nhy7MMyDwHVDuKinCPcpY2NA0vwjr-TtRLRY83mwKmSVXMN1LalJslzcDK7NKeZy9NMb4Pv74qQuV2YKE5J-MM3d7qvom5ErGGjBJxGFGqjmm5HhNdN7DddQjKgq1NbWAS_qaBDjKHdQJdzdyh5ccHPk6DYllIgqcRpAQ/s1080/nap-caftan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNs7lTj2dxE4haCHpd1xND3_Nhy7MMyDwHVDuKinCPcpY2NA0vwjr-TtRLRY83mwKmSVXMN1LalJslzcDK7NKeZy9NMb4Pv74qQuV2YKE5J-MM3d7qvom5ErGGjBJxGFGqjmm5HhNdN7DddQjKgq1NbWAS_qaBDjKHdQJdzdyh5ccHPk6DYllIgqcRpAQ/s320/nap-caftan.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Nap-caftan, </i>by Judi Krew</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1QJAvqbzuFb8r5QyM8MKqfEHUOHr5AXR9sPUV7UU4lGqdZcto7eevbo61YkYLE4wJ0vDmMYt7UJrPl3xk0Bs2ZXaBbL3N_kz1DTq_ccN0ncVEFqtY0gj0zxk1RVxVPzql3545RzOEfTstAVoP9I4LCntcJJFhHLVPBGkh3I7EijkntWIf1AV15XA03Qk/s1080/empty%20table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1QJAvqbzuFb8r5QyM8MKqfEHUOHr5AXR9sPUV7UU4lGqdZcto7eevbo61YkYLE4wJ0vDmMYt7UJrPl3xk0Bs2ZXaBbL3N_kz1DTq_ccN0ncVEFqtY0gj0zxk1RVxVPzql3545RzOEfTstAVoP9I4LCntcJJFhHLVPBGkh3I7EijkntWIf1AV15XA03Qk/w320-h320/empty%20table.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Empty Table, Filtered Light, </i>by Bruce Stebner</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>(PART 1)<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By Tom Wachunas </p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>“All aesthetic
judgment is really cultural evaluation.”</i></b> – Susan Sontag<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>“Any great art work… revives and re-adapts time and
space, and the measure of its success is the extent to which it makes you an
inhabitant of that world – the extent to which it invites you in and lets you
breathe its strange, special air.” </i></b>– Leonard Bernstein<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>“Judging art is like caging a bird. Instead of seeing
it soar, you can only watch it flutter.” — </i></b>Ron Brackin<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>“Taste is the best judge. It is rare. Art only
addresses itself to an excessively small number of individuals.” — </i></b>Paul
Cezanne<b><i><o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">EXHIBIT: <i>Stark County Artists Exhibition / </i>at
Massillon Museum Aultman Health Foundation Gallery, <b>THROUGH JANUARY 14, 2024</b>
/ 121 Lincoln Way East, downtown Massillon, Ohio / Phone: 330-833-4061 /
Tuesday through Saturday 9:30am - 5:00pm, Sunday 2:00pm - 5:00pm<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After attending the
November 30 opening reception for this hallowed annual rite, my initial
take-away left me feeling just a bit more naughty than nice. Despite the show’s
giddy diversity of styles, content, and media, and its sheer number of pieces (very
crowded with 74 works, selected from 221 entries submitted by 91 artists), there
was something uneven if not mediocre about the overall quality of the exhibit. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What was I missing?
What was I really doing there anyway? Was I a humbugging critic once again
looking for stuff to complain about? Guilt raised its nagging voice and left me
to ponder how my first observations of the show were perhaps too cursory.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Long story short: I
returned to the gallery two more times for a much slower, closer look<i>.</i> Of
course there are indeed some truly remarkable pieces in this exhibit, and
certainly well beyond just the works chosen by the jury to receive awards (as
questionable as they may be to some of us).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consider this ARTWACH post as Part 1 of 2. So
for this first part, here’s a look the jurors’ award winners. I’ll be posting
Part 2 before the New Year begins.<a name="_Hlk153977444"><o:p></o:p></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk153977444;"><b>Best in Show</b>:
<i>bare feet - </i>mixed media by <b>Jessica Morton<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk153977444;"><b>Second Place: </b><i>Nap-caftan
– </i>muslin, paper napkins, Sharpie, buttons – by <b>Judi Krew</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk153977444;"><b>Third Place: </b><i>Empty
Table, Filtered Light – </i>oil, by <b>Bruce Stebner<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk153977444;"><b>Honorable
Mentions: </b><i>The Last Cowboy, </i>oil on board<i> </i>by <b>Todd Bergert / </b><i>Under
Siege, </i>mixed media, by <b>Sally Priscilla Lytle / </b><i>Bad Believer, </i>Digital,
by <b>Alex Strader<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk153977444;"></span>
<p class="MsoNormal">[This year’s jurors were Cleveland artist Davon Brantley;
Melissa Stallard, Associate Professor, Photography Area Coordinator, The
University of Akron; and Steve Mountz, artist/art instructor, Salem, Ohio.]<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The 52 Stark County artists exhibited here are: Claire
Murray Adams, Rosemary Anderson, Rodney Atwood, Alexia Avdelas, Todd Bergert,
Charles Bonakoski, Chris Borello, Lou Camerato, Peter Castillo, Paul B.
Codispoti, Therese Cook, Ron Copeland, David L. Dingwell, Laura Donnelly, Tim
Eakin, Steve Ehret, Linda Faulkner, Shea Flaherty, Robert Gallik, Timothy
Hirst, Bruce Humbert, Christine Janson, David Jentgen, Erika Katherine,
Annabelle Kim, Judi Krew, David L. Kuntzman, Susan Kurtz, Ted Lawson, Sam
Lilenfield, Amy V. Lindenberger, Sally Priscilla Lytle, Miranda Marsh, Sharon
Frank Mazgaj, Susan McClelland, Mal McCrea, Daniel McLaughlin, Jessica Morton,
Emily Orsich, Natividad Lopez Ortiz, Patricia Zinsmeister Parker, Mark V.
Pitocco, Brian Robinson, Priscilla Roggenkamp, Kathryn Skidmore, Sari Sponhour,
Bruce Stebner, Alex Strader, Chad Troyer, Pat Mather Waltz, Jo Westfall, and
Gail Wetherell-Sack.<o:p></o:p></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-72272780220576911032023-12-14T07:51:00.000-08:002023-12-14T07:51:49.062-08:00GOOD NEWS<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>GOOD NEWS</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-mMeEgIs06_tCWgm1PZpTInohJFNJSmGDq4zvKvlmhTe3BfKab9bcaYlM59iSNxiXjPBaDmx1hHD-_yzKPwKwdHRQzpv7iWT9moOmJY1Yos8iUYf4oYvtOSgPpLkULztgqMiez_YR7S66fAbgVc-VTOtzuBNjFS3GeoZDYqo4J9j_LZByAhTLJJjypA/s4608/DSCN3636.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-mMeEgIs06_tCWgm1PZpTInohJFNJSmGDq4zvKvlmhTe3BfKab9bcaYlM59iSNxiXjPBaDmx1hHD-_yzKPwKwdHRQzpv7iWT9moOmJY1Yos8iUYf4oYvtOSgPpLkULztgqMiez_YR7S66fAbgVc-VTOtzuBNjFS3GeoZDYqo4J9j_LZByAhTLJJjypA/s320/DSCN3636.JPG" width="240" /></a></b></div><b><br /><o:p></o:p></b><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is my 2023
Christmas painting/card to all of you. It’s called, simply, <i>Good News. </i>And
with it, I pray always that the seeds of God’s Word - His Promise, Hope, and
Peace - sown into the heart of the earth – all of humanity – take root and
flourish into abundant Good Fruit. Be Blessed.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b><i>For unto us a
child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his
shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace. </i></b>– Isaiah 9: 6-8<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b><i>But the fruit
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control… </i></b>-Galatians 5:22-23<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b><i>Now faith is
being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. </i></b>-Hebrews
11:1<o:p></o:p></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-80509675876296271962023-11-08T12:35:00.002-08:002023-11-08T12:49:50.630-08:00Making Paint Sing<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Making Paint Sing </b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">by Tom Wachunas</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXHYXMFAu8LKZPRLUmZ_Z678dJghzZZdFkH349xaORxr_wjl4WJMeV2SAc0tvqNk4QMggzLvW4Q8K4_q4uBP0Mk36vo5at9xTtEUkZLymFNT9iwVUD_FwijpBDbFzJ6bvx7hQs-UFsbd2F7EsNRvPmbhfOpkPD-0Cv7Mh4636DC47pwbOSYmqjgLtcSrQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1316" data-original-width="1760" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXHYXMFAu8LKZPRLUmZ_Z678dJghzZZdFkH349xaORxr_wjl4WJMeV2SAc0tvqNk4QMggzLvW4Q8K4_q4uBP0Mk36vo5at9xTtEUkZLymFNT9iwVUD_FwijpBDbFzJ6bvx7hQs-UFsbd2F7EsNRvPmbhfOpkPD-0Cv7Mh4636DC47pwbOSYmqjgLtcSrQ" width="320" /></a></b></div><b> Dark Was The Night<o:p></o:p></b><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCJeTFUeXbuRabaeRI1Q9YKWq1--2Ilwt8yLlfMHvslRCon8duhy95AGgBMsbN7cbG_X943otdAbekcJ75u3KZ0DG6R1qA8hHMAgh3MZHVDyF0ryaCCerlUauF4HPqs6Jn4ACt5n6WrVbUHXbu3RSsrPto2qDRGViVAw3rfww_FaHWeqDxZydTDEArLJM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="1500" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCJeTFUeXbuRabaeRI1Q9YKWq1--2Ilwt8yLlfMHvslRCon8duhy95AGgBMsbN7cbG_X943otdAbekcJ75u3KZ0DG6R1qA8hHMAgh3MZHVDyF0ryaCCerlUauF4HPqs6Jn4ACt5n6WrVbUHXbu3RSsrPto2qDRGViVAw3rfww_FaHWeqDxZydTDEArLJM" width="320" /></a></div> 1,000 Miles From Nowhere<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwMJ1ikfblejCMzJDUGXIVW8Umeaidrd_TZCe-woWSdTfnJ1_jLoZN3n_DixN7GoJiKA4kuLSa8bxNlhGHdjRQoaOUbosyZtMBRn-iiKtBHYJ8PCH1s2NNln2FwHctVsHXRxaOh6xYPrUROiCpGoxnEKxOaHB2_ef3fxq-mHR5EjrBcgMUbPwHe7JFcy4" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4013" data-original-width="3291" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwMJ1ikfblejCMzJDUGXIVW8Umeaidrd_TZCe-woWSdTfnJ1_jLoZN3n_DixN7GoJiKA4kuLSa8bxNlhGHdjRQoaOUbosyZtMBRn-iiKtBHYJ8PCH1s2NNln2FwHctVsHXRxaOh6xYPrUROiCpGoxnEKxOaHB2_ef3fxq-mHR5EjrBcgMUbPwHe7JFcy4" width="197" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Woman 1</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_c5rXcXry7GkV5czPLPM6BenmjZZjM-DEJ81J146dXqyRKz3pq1uAWY2294sID1C7XQwwgprxvLwRMoTytlYPhn8TaovsKUxyPlNIIKKLlsKqZw8OPlt1nFtgANKG93WgzhzIiHD3gPM71hM1bnnkYuh6CsR6el6r8giVe1tOZl4SeHs8bMLJ2eZFfEg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2974" data-original-width="2989" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_c5rXcXry7GkV5czPLPM6BenmjZZjM-DEJ81J146dXqyRKz3pq1uAWY2294sID1C7XQwwgprxvLwRMoTytlYPhn8TaovsKUxyPlNIIKKLlsKqZw8OPlt1nFtgANKG93WgzhzIiHD3gPM71hM1bnnkYuh6CsR6el6r8giVe1tOZl4SeHs8bMLJ2eZFfEg" width="241" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Muerte de la Madre </td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>
<div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjE4lNg1hlS2m5_0Xsy3lip0hzqolIyD0hGxXqe_F8oIfDSVVo25j3fod3GH5GUatMqgRvoDgBovQR4cm8z2MU9iYLMVxA5PUHRLzSJL4Dv-mo3e-qT3MrdD9X05jatav3oHPSx41cZcQ1gJemRkfn9P4fgQGjc_aPW9NtQsdfjSrR0JvEiOPDslwyRRD4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjE4lNg1hlS2m5_0Xsy3lip0hzqolIyD0hGxXqe_F8oIfDSVVo25j3fod3GH5GUatMqgRvoDgBovQR4cm8z2MU9iYLMVxA5PUHRLzSJL4Dv-mo3e-qT3MrdD9X05jatav3oHPSx41cZcQ1gJemRkfn9P4fgQGjc_aPW9NtQsdfjSrR0JvEiOPDslwyRRD4" width="320" /></a></div> On a Sea of Forgotten Teardrops</div><div> </div><div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjv1mo91tZYYJemGl1Lh3nAIiVrAWjn7x3m7coXFvpdVddoZTQEwP5pwKPstGtXC8pWRT68mNo8AtWutAhkBfma2gMdtpkaI4-bDbaRtz0pUZlM-LctD-K43n_2jaBDd2hRJDm2-NcCLH7bM1FJ1MpIsgcWvhZA3uBRHPkup3-U2f6cWxAS2T53Xbmd03E" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4192" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjv1mo91tZYYJemGl1Lh3nAIiVrAWjn7x3m7coXFvpdVddoZTQEwP5pwKPstGtXC8pWRT68mNo8AtWutAhkBfma2gMdtpkaI4-bDbaRtz0pUZlM-LctD-K43n_2jaBDd2hRJDm2-NcCLH7bM1FJ1MpIsgcWvhZA3uBRHPkup3-U2f6cWxAS2T53Xbmd03E" width="291" /></a></div> Conversations</div><div> </div><div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgEjNRShd9UCgiuWe74pjWP8IE_Savcg2PwdvNtT1acGKlE1Wpl-kOhwcDXlf3mwSd32dbRoxaFKWaAmA8irIpi2QiQurYtzS5Q1SQ5NWGM0l3H88CmI-RzHr1t3RSLHNUEQ-CKTdwEdXDIu40amaWUDukNwW9Qwp0R4Vu17PlZiNvpSghCIAds9byFQM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgEjNRShd9UCgiuWe74pjWP8IE_Savcg2PwdvNtT1acGKlE1Wpl-kOhwcDXlf3mwSd32dbRoxaFKWaAmA8irIpi2QiQurYtzS5Q1SQ5NWGM0l3H88CmI-RzHr1t3RSLHNUEQ-CKTdwEdXDIu40amaWUDukNwW9Qwp0R4Vu17PlZiNvpSghCIAds9byFQM" width="320" /></a></div> Exit from Eden<br /><br /></div><div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgoYL5VvDunupRH3cV_CS_iFxH3O1SLzV_HJG7x0whPePPTIiENg1blmDFIGRnQ3NENedb7p1yF-50sWcftpRsEyCo1XbG8KCx_gOw5YiPIQY4s8KHvOh9fuuZxA8TIbcU7jp0-zWpAghWYszGihIAmWZ10hHuOPhi_mkBTS0swniWBlMErN5FBjYHBmuI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3897" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgoYL5VvDunupRH3cV_CS_iFxH3O1SLzV_HJG7x0whPePPTIiENg1blmDFIGRnQ3NENedb7p1yF-50sWcftpRsEyCo1XbG8KCx_gOw5YiPIQY4s8KHvOh9fuuZxA8TIbcU7jp0-zWpAghWYszGihIAmWZ10hHuOPhi_mkBTS0swniWBlMErN5FBjYHBmuI" width="271" /></a></div> Cinderella Sleeping It Off</div><br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>“Take me for what I am / A star newly emerging / Long
simmering explodes / Inside the self is reeling / In the pocket of the heart,
in the rushing of the blood / In the muscle of my sex, in the mindful mindless
love / I accept the new found man / And I set the twilight reeling…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></b>Lyrics from “Set the Twilight
Reeling” - by Lou Reed<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>“I use the human form, in all its complexities and abilities – through gesture, expression, and energy, to interpret the relationship between us and our emotions. Ultimately my intention is to make the viewers aware of their existence and how they fit into the collective experience that is life, where they came from, why they’re here, and what it means to be human.” </b>– John W. Carlson</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">EXHIBIT: <i>Set the Twilight Reeling – </i>Paintings, prints,
drawings, videos and objects<i> </i>by John W. Carlson<i> / </i>at Massillon
Museum’s<i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Aultman Health
Foundation<i> </i>Gallery, <b>THROUGH November 12, 2023 / </b>121 Lincoln Way
East, downtown<b><i> </i></b>Massillon, Ohio / Phone: 330-833-4061 / Tuesday
through Saturday 9:30am - 5:00pm, Sunday 2:00pm - 5:00pm <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://johnwcarlsonstudios.com/about">https://johnwcarlsonstudios.com/about</a>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://johnwcarlsonstudios.com/blues-exhibition">https://johnwcarlsonstudios.com/blues-exhibition</a>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://obits.cleveland.com/us/obituaries/cleveland/name/john-carlson-obituary?id=7820645">https://obits.cleveland.com/us/obituaries/cleveland/name/john-carlson-obituary?id=7820645</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have you ever heard
a painting sing? Impossible, you say? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As absurd as it
might be to consider, have you<i> </i>ever had the uncanny sense of a picture evoking
– maybe even actualizing - a human voice caught in the throes of grieving? Have
you<i> </i>listened<i> </i>to an urgent vibrato seeking respite from anger or
painful loss? Or<i> </i>felt its tremulous probing of tragedy in a courageous search
for serenity and hope, harmony and healing? Can the physical materiality of a
painting make tangible the impassioned lyricism of, say, a Blues song? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve always been an
avid believer in the agency of a painter’s hand to make empathy a visceral,
empirical reality. To make immediacy palpable. It’s an agency in jaw-dropping
abundance at the wonderful exhibition, or <i>concert</i>, if you will, still
happening right now at Massillon Museum - a posthumous, thoroughly loving
homage to the work of John W. Carlson (1954-2020).</p>
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk150344981;"></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For this (unfortunately) late blog post, I’m
taking off my formal critic’s hat. No arcane techno-speak from me here. Instead,
for those of you who may not be able to see the show before it ends on November
12, I’m appealing to your open-hearted time and willingness to do some exploratory
homework. Accordingly, you can read about Carlson’s life, motivations and prolific
aesthetic pursuits by clicking on the hyperlinks above.</p>
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk150346488;"></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vital in embracing
the overall spirit of the exhibit is this important <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>background information wisely provided by the
Massillon Museum<i>: “John Carlson collaborated with his partner, artist Shari
Wilkins, on the project titled American Emotionalism founded in 2015. A
manifesto of artistic intention was created for this movement, revealing some
of the ways that Carlson and Wilkins challenged themselves in their work.
Spanning a wide variety of mediums—from photography and music to painting and
collage—American Emotionalism was a reaction against the over-explanation of
visceral work. Carlson and Wilkins’ intention was to create work that elicits
emotions that arise from instinctive, intuitive feelings, leaving space for
viewers’ interpretation with little to no explicit explanation.” <o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Carlson’s own words
are generously evident throughout the exhibit, including these: <i>“Viewing a
painting with a strong presence asks us to stop and be present with it. It
reawakens us, and we remember we are alive and that things matter.”<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Matter
indeed. With this stunning show, Massillon Museum has outdone itself in gifting
us with such a prodigious tribute to the mind and heart of a superb artist<i>. </i>John
W. Carlson was, and remains, an évocateur of the most<i> </i>consummate sort.
He told us, “…<i>I’m…trying to conjure an image almost like a spell.” </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let me add, like a song.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Simmering,
exploding, rushing from the pocket of the heart…Come look and sing. Empathy,
anyone?<o:p></o:p></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-90255594162091637232023-10-23T11:19:00.000-07:002023-10-23T11:19:13.913-07:00Brava Illustrata! Celebrating Grit, Grace, and Gratitude<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Brava
Illustrata! Celebrating Grit, Grace, and Gratitude</span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 21.3333px;"><b><br /></b></span></span><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV7wIBlebpRWq8XLD1kt9WiiHscMFAulXY5151OZ0NZGLNuzQeiN_QkqTmGGMaQg4QunsL3Bl0o3AbD-EOsb_yD5cTrPLQENVREp415Y7tV1Dc2ppyCXkTFGMAVAZb8o2JC6GZ8TkfINgMLvQbaWLZC6ZWWmFfUwA2Aytqo5XC9ftWqmYLSZkCNldx_bM/s2048/Kat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV7wIBlebpRWq8XLD1kt9WiiHscMFAulXY5151OZ0NZGLNuzQeiN_QkqTmGGMaQg4QunsL3Bl0o3AbD-EOsb_yD5cTrPLQENVREp415Y7tV1Dc2ppyCXkTFGMAVAZb8o2JC6GZ8TkfINgMLvQbaWLZC6ZWWmFfUwA2Aytqo5XC9ftWqmYLSZkCNldx_bM/s320/Kat.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8LnIzDTcbPhCcad9C9Fu0muF8zgevjV79syElkJYnI9sX1UlXVqkSEeS_iaToOFjDbKWdTg1CcInt3bkLjPlwW5fUGAiANGtEvEAja7RDWjWMfzhbXV5yYKFTdBlsveaoPgX9IvW841QARWUJGHJf51JUNYCxBpxLUQ8zgJiDKBnfRmy0nK7ShyOzFKI/s4608/DSCN3596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8LnIzDTcbPhCcad9C9Fu0muF8zgevjV79syElkJYnI9sX1UlXVqkSEeS_iaToOFjDbKWdTg1CcInt3bkLjPlwW5fUGAiANGtEvEAja7RDWjWMfzhbXV5yYKFTdBlsveaoPgX9IvW841QARWUJGHJf51JUNYCxBpxLUQ8zgJiDKBnfRmy0nK7ShyOzFKI/s320/DSCN3596.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water Balloons</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-LOnEiu4bZjQCWCTDkmCenAV74arNGYAlF63pQHc9oxjSxBY1peEpiDVSW-zQqPs3oGv7egyEzJVNyMUBg6tjybSQmg8o7us5-_GYA6qZNG0O4doqG4gurf3IalJpPnqBBa2I1Gd_xwcJA1eRx4H_eFv-1R7_Yz3gIfVMDSRhroi6u34tZW98FBL0uKg/s3456/DSCN3595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-LOnEiu4bZjQCWCTDkmCenAV74arNGYAlF63pQHc9oxjSxBY1peEpiDVSW-zQqPs3oGv7egyEzJVNyMUBg6tjybSQmg8o7us5-_GYA6qZNG0O4doqG4gurf3IalJpPnqBBa2I1Gd_xwcJA1eRx4H_eFv-1R7_Yz3gIfVMDSRhroi6u34tZW98FBL0uKg/s320/DSCN3595.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thank you for fixing my Hip</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheHbXZDZmhiAlm77V6BA7QeJkM5vqkqdq7xO7MpbvQvTptTZi-MK_o-1YZCQPD8fOoJ8SYry8kTjNNf2coiJq8mO-nAcLioxxf6WG5Wg9wbDoM21o1j5P9fLoKCi2L8FOVuZW73LcCCSXvJLptLVgxZM0YXqij2hbHcTBxAHURESl7hbOUXQ1tlzCsFjk/s3910/DSCN3588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3910" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheHbXZDZmhiAlm77V6BA7QeJkM5vqkqdq7xO7MpbvQvTptTZi-MK_o-1YZCQPD8fOoJ8SYry8kTjNNf2coiJq8mO-nAcLioxxf6WG5Wg9wbDoM21o1j5P9fLoKCi2L8FOVuZW73LcCCSXvJLptLVgxZM0YXqij2hbHcTBxAHURESl7hbOUXQ1tlzCsFjk/s320/DSCN3588.JPG" width="283" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where did you find that baguette?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGtpdeCBt5O0KJH83KJRh7RoFWEv9ph3FLhyphenhyphencQf6ugXaJQMeTyb8Y-ppORCiE-WCOF3yoj4PczAkhjMnmx_VZu94PtiYEOl53Ztc2Cf6Xqz0ts_H8fP8ZenEtzzPUUv3CanCGc1I6RvF1k-eJgOa8JFvKZOBlkbocYaeT-R3JUAWfLZsW0mx5gprX7EfU/s4608/DSCN3597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGtpdeCBt5O0KJH83KJRh7RoFWEv9ph3FLhyphenhyphencQf6ugXaJQMeTyb8Y-ppORCiE-WCOF3yoj4PczAkhjMnmx_VZu94PtiYEOl53Ztc2Cf6Xqz0ts_H8fP8ZenEtzzPUUv3CanCGc1I6RvF1k-eJgOa8JFvKZOBlkbocYaeT-R3JUAWfLZsW0mx5gprX7EfU/s320/DSCN3597.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meet ya at Milestone</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTYZ-GwPKLgrjTeSa9lO1JX3J6Q91chvbHrnnnqrJl6DGLghs0d4lV9Wqd9699Ntmirm5zWB7NHa8w7-hbPt8EPIHi0Mvjb4xOtcoNnVHOI1k6D66fJh6p81bhFRyhmQxzzeR-JcZZzT7SeJE3qCRSBU7iCSap-bH6hNjLYeeR6WScKw5KU2JsUqbdjKI/s4608/DSCN3582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTYZ-GwPKLgrjTeSa9lO1JX3J6Q91chvbHrnnnqrJl6DGLghs0d4lV9Wqd9699Ntmirm5zWB7NHa8w7-hbPt8EPIHi0Mvjb4xOtcoNnVHOI1k6D66fJh6p81bhFRyhmQxzzeR-JcZZzT7SeJE3qCRSBU7iCSap-bH6hNjLYeeR6WScKw5KU2JsUqbdjKI/s320/DSCN3582.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Pappy</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM5XWGxjo5yVuH47N-N_zZHM8il6ILfmzTboWB7PR4pqdB_dZO0BqNZPDUviKk6XejScTAXfpzN5MEgnCbF9sAn8-ItntTIowmvWK1-p1J1GDu4CMQOYlxvjh5TSFU72Fu7AGJecjEEBfNUtqsDEQhmuh9kBA6fP30WUCwfFIKbWDylUX_15EHvZSInNs/s4268/DSCN3590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4268" data-original-width="3265" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM5XWGxjo5yVuH47N-N_zZHM8il6ILfmzTboWB7PR4pqdB_dZO0BqNZPDUviKk6XejScTAXfpzN5MEgnCbF9sAn8-ItntTIowmvWK1-p1J1GDu4CMQOYlxvjh5TSFU72Fu7AGJecjEEBfNUtqsDEQhmuh9kBA6fP30WUCwfFIKbWDylUX_15EHvZSInNs/s320/DSCN3590.JPG" width="245" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BuzzBin and the Frankenstein Ghosts</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><o:p></o:p></b><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: center; text-indent: -.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">By Tom Wachunas<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I would see this man, pushing a
cart down the sidewalk, with a baguette and wearing vans daily when working
@siloartsstudio . He always was smiling, and I have no idea where he was
finding this tall slender bread- or the story behind his shoes. He always
brought a smile to my face. No idea where he came from or where he was going…”</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-</span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> Kat Francis - <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>commenting on her piece, “Where did you find
that baguette?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">EXHIBIT:
<i>Dear Canton – </i>recent work by Kat Francis / at Silo Art Studios, 431 4<sup>th</sup>
Street NW, downtown Canton, Ohio / <b>THROUGH OCTOBER 28, 2023 - viewing hours
Monday-Friday 9a.m to 3p.m<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/makeupkat/videos/850532823145567"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">https://www.facebook.com/makeupkat/videos/850532823145567</span></a><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As bad luck would have it, I was unable to be
present at the much-heralded Friday the 13th opening of the <i>Dear Canton </i>exhibit
of recent work by Kat Francis. By all accounts it was quite the exciting,
well-attended event. And deservedly so. While I’m really sorry I missed it, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m all the more happy to report that Kat’s
work remains viewable here for a few more days. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So what are we
seeing? A journal? A scrapbook? A love letter? An effusive thankyou note? Yes,
yes, yes, and yes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s all largely
in the form of her playful, meticulous assemblages, many made with thin,
layered slices of wood, painted with bright, delightfully energetic illustrations
of the people, places and things of Canton’s sociocultural ethos that she has
come to love and value.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here are some
excerpts from the displayed letter she wrote to all of us. <i>“Hello City of
Dreamers…I am in awe of how resilient you are…You are determined. You are
unique. A city of underdogs that start successful businesses and help their
neighbors succeed any time they can…I have been inspired by you…because you’re
a unique, scrappy and a determined city, with so many talented, motivated and
beautiful people…Thank you for being part of my story. The good, the bad, and
inspiring me daily…Cheers to all you underdogs…keep creating the city that you want
to live in…” <o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So
on a personal note to Kat Francis, let me add… may your gratitude remain
infectious, your creativity contagious, and your joy ever increasing. <o:p></o:p></span></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-22697374007258684792023-10-04T11:58:00.000-07:002023-10-04T11:58:09.297-07:00Scintillating Sixth Sense Sojourns<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scintillating Sixth Sense Sojourns </b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgO6C9VQPE5G8Xm2SxtJps0aX-PuZSqAPlmXI7IvAlc2nQJo10ECkgEI4cpOIqkbwliAn4YfselSPbMHlR5qZRhiMA9NoKLjgXNGjXKCA8y6g-KHCy75Ts_32MsfAHi6noNeV8DwzeK7CfDLu3oekmvf2ifwKyJGrhBru_QtoR9paEJjYgTm_fr3jHjos/s3710/DSCN3541.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3377" data-original-width="3710" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgO6C9VQPE5G8Xm2SxtJps0aX-PuZSqAPlmXI7IvAlc2nQJo10ECkgEI4cpOIqkbwliAn4YfselSPbMHlR5qZRhiMA9NoKLjgXNGjXKCA8y6g-KHCy75Ts_32MsfAHi6noNeV8DwzeK7CfDLu3oekmvf2ifwKyJGrhBru_QtoR9paEJjYgTm_fr3jHjos/s320/DSCN3541.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>80s Track Suit</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b></b></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-weight: bold; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhATRVh5lrKY1ugUZZ_fbcN2MFtiVk5swlkttO2_ixY80Pvpz6UOBYOcktDfcH70if8V672AXOxeXmWbFrWLzHwPwQ5E7z84yRJRCkKKvqTbRDgTaCf-pcoEwY5TAZ3ewr1L5Es30gf_DLvym04DaQPuhTjrIaqMC0R1tVifOz1RUpp0tARzRebsH-Druk/s3789/DSCN3542.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3367" data-original-width="3789" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhATRVh5lrKY1ugUZZ_fbcN2MFtiVk5swlkttO2_ixY80Pvpz6UOBYOcktDfcH70if8V672AXOxeXmWbFrWLzHwPwQ5E7z84yRJRCkKKvqTbRDgTaCf-pcoEwY5TAZ3ewr1L5Es30gf_DLvym04DaQPuhTjrIaqMC0R1tVifOz1RUpp0tARzRebsH-Druk/s320/DSCN3542.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Olives and Company</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-weight: bold; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglI-on965o_TKu1VzoIuDajaiY1Fei3kqcl9p0mYWjRseOtlcoaQ8FcRvbJYZbCyUvYSgw2XvCmjZ5aoTjYcJo5Bo6IuGcP7cWhTtdohjLZ0w8yMZzJZAS5Liy0UTxi0yjls8OB5o24h-KvLYy1Ef0v-6v3SqmhIFeiGJFy-kGEJgPCqTCrMKzMHWobno/s4583/DSCN3544.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4583" data-original-width="2683" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglI-on965o_TKu1VzoIuDajaiY1Fei3kqcl9p0mYWjRseOtlcoaQ8FcRvbJYZbCyUvYSgw2XvCmjZ5aoTjYcJo5Bo6IuGcP7cWhTtdohjLZ0w8yMZzJZAS5Liy0UTxi0yjls8OB5o24h-KvLYy1Ef0v-6v3SqmhIFeiGJFy-kGEJgPCqTCrMKzMHWobno/s320/DSCN3544.JPG" width="187" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Aerial View 2 (top)/ Aerial View 1</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-weight: bold; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCkSy-GBqORtZjLghRBEyrCZXW8syVXq7XAhjefmcsl1U_G5qJbdnJWSXQUDt6hPlbspSSHQXuKgdjVbVdh_vvBDyr9xnM1Oa-jFGGRIaXNqQaLQ0VRn9TGVAw_l-KZtWX7Yf44gmmpVmYcwJW0YUHZO164n7Hku3C-jv6MjfOMOGjLlfpsXdsIrfpeYs/s3776/DSCN3545.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3776" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCkSy-GBqORtZjLghRBEyrCZXW8syVXq7XAhjefmcsl1U_G5qJbdnJWSXQUDt6hPlbspSSHQXuKgdjVbVdh_vvBDyr9xnM1Oa-jFGGRIaXNqQaLQ0VRn9TGVAw_l-KZtWX7Yf44gmmpVmYcwJW0YUHZO164n7Hku3C-jv6MjfOMOGjLlfpsXdsIrfpeYs/s320/DSCN3545.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Road Signs</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-weight: bold; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUXzGgNm2Y2d615Lz_GEUmF-0ZnPu-u8hIeji6O05bZf1ZmGwHp0M8bzmLvh6uKSQJXG9BqRzVb1lsiEgNQHRDatl0Sw-SYiZenITQ0OxYD1jMz0NiTtx8_I996xvxD-9VpsebkAhus7Y1x7FeEH9x1OEp8i0zGDoGwBs99x6k_Ta7y-f2jl053F8QFJ0/s3849/DSCN3546.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3849" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUXzGgNm2Y2d615Lz_GEUmF-0ZnPu-u8hIeji6O05bZf1ZmGwHp0M8bzmLvh6uKSQJXG9BqRzVb1lsiEgNQHRDatl0Sw-SYiZenITQ0OxYD1jMz0NiTtx8_I996xvxD-9VpsebkAhus7Y1x7FeEH9x1OEp8i0zGDoGwBs99x6k_Ta7y-f2jl053F8QFJ0/s320/DSCN3546.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Oh My</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-weight: bold; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsA9TWEh_jqQ9nQGybb8aZVAEBLMLqbga-YZGP3HKUmZMi1MwgMZVv4pE7EXoO4-f0ERrSZBG2av3bMABFx2Iaw-dULYpLlrqws-rwFZn6UenPkuDriisH_5o9-LGN7dqwgxKgfoIbUiwHXTF4tpUFtweBOHtspQZMH98Zqy0YYtLFuaePm9yQMQJESIo/s4608/DSCN3549.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsA9TWEh_jqQ9nQGybb8aZVAEBLMLqbga-YZGP3HKUmZMi1MwgMZVv4pE7EXoO4-f0ERrSZBG2av3bMABFx2Iaw-dULYpLlrqws-rwFZn6UenPkuDriisH_5o9-LGN7dqwgxKgfoIbUiwHXTF4tpUFtweBOHtspQZMH98Zqy0YYtLFuaePm9yQMQJESIo/s320/DSCN3549.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Lessons of Fatherhood 1-4</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="2645" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftP5QHaXBwdeIXbyTuM2C2XX16xN6K1HLmnofhHr35ViwnFCGAO1Uo5r9i5vR_ttfqBPTHT8VZT8MVHxbE2f8hyphenhyphenNgM_h7lDs3yKgqVQPkXmAXL-5imZmoYHl-UaWtDVem4JQRuz2dK858o2H2ow9ggP3ioUsz6Aej0APu7ZNX4lz6MqGz2g2DHPWObzQ/s320/DSCN3550.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="184" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Refraction 2 (top) / Refraction 1</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftP5QHaXBwdeIXbyTuM2C2XX16xN6K1HLmnofhHr35ViwnFCGAO1Uo5r9i5vR_ttfqBPTHT8VZT8MVHxbE2f8hyphenhyphenNgM_h7lDs3yKgqVQPkXmAXL-5imZmoYHl-UaWtDVem4JQRuz2dK858o2H2ow9ggP3ioUsz6Aej0APu7ZNX4lz6MqGz2g2DHPWObzQ/s4608/DSCN3550.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><i></i></a></div><br /><b><o:p></o:p></b><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By Tom Wachunas </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“I make no distinction between poetry and painting.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>- Joan Miró</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>EXHIBIT: <i>Departures
</i>/ recent paintings by Christopher Triner / at John Strauss Studios Gallery,
236 Walnut Ave NE, Canton, OH / Gallery hours: M – F 10a.m. to 5p.m.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b>THROUGH OCTOBER 13, 2023 / Artist
Reception on Friday, Oct. 6, 6:00-9:00 p.m.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://john-strauss-furniture.myshopify.com/collections/christopher-triner"><i>https://john-strauss-furniture.myshopify.com/collections/christopher-triner</i></a><i>
<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prior
to seeing this exhibit, my last encounter with the work of prolific painter
Christopher Triner was his solo show called “Detours,” at Cyrus Art Gallery one
year ago. Here’s what he wrote then about his exquisite landscapes and arboreal
scenes: <i>"We have all found ourselves looking for “detours” during the
last two and a half years. Ways to pass time; ways to stay safe; ways to calm
our own anxieties; and maybe even ways to escape. My detours found me traveling
near and far to appreciate simplicity, solitude, and a bit more of
myself." </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He focused on
representing nature as a beautiful, comforting refuge, rendered with a luscious
palette, and pulsing with a luminous serenity. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s a link to my
post about that show, in case you’re interested: <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://artwach.blogspot.com/2022/08/roads-into-arboreal-auras.html">http://artwach.blogspot.com/2022/08/roads-into-arboreal-auras.html</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Switch gears now, and fast-forward to more
recent work featured in Triner’s current solo exhibit titled <i>Departures. </i>Here’s
some of what he has written about these very distinctive abstractions: <i>“…I
see my work as still a type of topography or map-making of landscapes, but now,
I cannot visually see the trails, the paths, and the light sources from images;
only in the arbitrary occurrences that happen on the painting surfaces…”</i> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Departures, </i>then? In the particular style
of imagery, certainly. Yet Triner’s newer paintbrush trawlings are nonetheless tantalizing
arrivals in their own right. They’re intimate, contemplative visits to…elsewhere.
Sensing the seine, pith, and marrow of these abstractions is to enter a
psychogenic ‘place’ – Triner’s as well as your own. So, how sharp is your sixth
sense these days? To get into it, you’ll need to intuit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Triner’s paintings
are kinetic, performative actions. They’re not static, objectively illustrated
geophysical scenes, but rather energetically encrypted expressions of a state
of mind and heart. Call it a meditative choreography of moods and memories filtered,
unraveled, and reconfigured as if to the beat of the painter’s brush hearing
music. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To be complete, all
they need now are willing partners. Care to listen and dance along, anyone? <o:p></o:p></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-57851924616822460812023-09-18T11:36:00.000-07:002023-09-18T11:36:24.955-07:00Tantalizing Terrains<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tantalizing Terrains</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCWZ5cq_WXhNXiDEQyKZiYu69eMUBJ1ihBopFNlp4Dkbx5kQr0jy2Fl1lbNCvFlPQXGl08jMaUSllLmFQozJvre_Ud1ubieiN5RqySFWffnkGPSQct3oaQ6k6w0Q5V9GilGsHxkgw3PLuwG06w-rW05IqVex75Q7pzyZt2c802weCLraRtWvc-j8KxEY/s4608/DSCN3528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCWZ5cq_WXhNXiDEQyKZiYu69eMUBJ1ihBopFNlp4Dkbx5kQr0jy2Fl1lbNCvFlPQXGl08jMaUSllLmFQozJvre_Ud1ubieiN5RqySFWffnkGPSQct3oaQ6k6w0Q5V9GilGsHxkgw3PLuwG06w-rW05IqVex75Q7pzyZt2c802weCLraRtWvc-j8KxEY/s320/DSCN3528.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Magical Thinking</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4fCuhn_B-oVoOPZ3lU8dKdUcyLD25r-htdXbwwS19CXcESnZFvKCfemNMyawQXi_4I9ear9P3_sFVDnuddYZA0rZt6COhVpU9plEDc6aTPG_9Do7YMhKAMpv8PWJp7gwCDDg2zixS-ptdtUOjn7R-zvGvbiOew8u2jgbgm2gcLzpluwcN4q75aPPx8p0/s3965/DSCN3529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3965" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4fCuhn_B-oVoOPZ3lU8dKdUcyLD25r-htdXbwwS19CXcESnZFvKCfemNMyawQXi_4I9ear9P3_sFVDnuddYZA0rZt6COhVpU9plEDc6aTPG_9Do7YMhKAMpv8PWJp7gwCDDg2zixS-ptdtUOjn7R-zvGvbiOew8u2jgbgm2gcLzpluwcN4q75aPPx8p0/s320/DSCN3529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ceremonial</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV1X92n-oR7EOpOUBzucZ9tCknZ9tPCN1hgRI9zosN1tsIJKlK9Y-wBga08FehjUv3fKO8ZF7EHWEok1tLnj-bQ8VLKGyhorAU08HEfxyHlPxKQTIF9bcpAkM_jHsnLuKfixKN_fwrC-4IvAznyzzzQWd0yYQ5NJDqRqqEcC7vSgK1utOoUHwJ_G6YND0/s4608/DSCN3538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV1X92n-oR7EOpOUBzucZ9tCknZ9tPCN1hgRI9zosN1tsIJKlK9Y-wBga08FehjUv3fKO8ZF7EHWEok1tLnj-bQ8VLKGyhorAU08HEfxyHlPxKQTIF9bcpAkM_jHsnLuKfixKN_fwrC-4IvAznyzzzQWd0yYQ5NJDqRqqEcC7vSgK1utOoUHwJ_G6YND0/s320/DSCN3538.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ebullience</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQfkeOOtY34TAvdn6AosuKO43SBjIRF8zDLNuLfhnhb7cQQBEMoXGTF_6kekcJATL7VXdQrjFq777HucTcRbzuQEssB6Z2iI6rO9eqVpeyvKlmt439H3DQtG9TejXVak2h4CHj0ip1MzzwMA0_dTdh8ZaBAW9uFMJOsiZ23UAUwhjZVILhg44IZJApNw/s600/8.GlimmeringShift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="449" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQfkeOOtY34TAvdn6AosuKO43SBjIRF8zDLNuLfhnhb7cQQBEMoXGTF_6kekcJATL7VXdQrjFq777HucTcRbzuQEssB6Z2iI6rO9eqVpeyvKlmt439H3DQtG9TejXVak2h4CHj0ip1MzzwMA0_dTdh8ZaBAW9uFMJOsiZ23UAUwhjZVILhg44IZJApNw/s320/8.GlimmeringShift.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Glimmering Shift</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwk8UCQc4x9IH2s_eyC-4sW5uIBSHAQtUo9mtxQcSHLUXcH9fCNpjJFTGVsEa6On8NpygL3VggK-3SgyiTfI67mJbp-T4yVnNY8NViuZLGJTKautxXUHUkCWVvgCBX50NTvD8UjdPPbuSEBGwYMh7tiTzsWB2lArKV7s455RgQ24x4P14NoJAoND9kWbE/s600/4a.Astonefromthesky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="487" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwk8UCQc4x9IH2s_eyC-4sW5uIBSHAQtUo9mtxQcSHLUXcH9fCNpjJFTGVsEa6On8NpygL3VggK-3SgyiTfI67mJbp-T4yVnNY8NViuZLGJTKautxXUHUkCWVvgCBX50NTvD8UjdPPbuSEBGwYMh7tiTzsWB2lArKV7s455RgQ24x4P14NoJAoND9kWbE/s320/4a.Astonefromthesky.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Stone from the Sky</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgll055WzixBllEaHQc_9xKLnnGzTWqQwFblqEjahDJyRtxIC6BuUBjwlBtC5mL8OaCNKJ669mc0SsQXc0JoL2Eaqg-1ykmeCZtN0-_vda0wUSMrCBU97Sj6UKQ_fEu_dK6-jlG59RhNhTMd9p8tTjP4Z9k4cG36Lw0FfcM3CLiQh9bbZffMeozFBIxxmU/s1200/Talk-Talk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="1200" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgll055WzixBllEaHQc_9xKLnnGzTWqQwFblqEjahDJyRtxIC6BuUBjwlBtC5mL8OaCNKJ669mc0SsQXc0JoL2Eaqg-1ykmeCZtN0-_vda0wUSMrCBU97Sj6UKQ_fEu_dK6-jlG59RhNhTMd9p8tTjP4Z9k4cG36Lw0FfcM3CLiQh9bbZffMeozFBIxxmU/s320/Talk-Talk.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Talk Talk</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By Tom Wachunas </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“…I work in a wide range of images, sometimes
recognizable and sometimes abstract. The world between the two is where most of
my work resides. Narratives weave loosely through this process and… images
coalesce and collapse almost simultaneously.” </b>– Randi Reiss McCormack<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“… incorporating fiber-based materials and techniques
into a painterly vocabulary and dazzlingly beautiful objects, Reiss-McCormack
enlivens and enriches the art world’s most exalted medium, and imbues it with
hospitality, domestic tradition, diversity, and accessibility.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-</b> Cara Ober, May 2022<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">EXHIBIT: <i>Magical Thinking / </i>work by <b>Randi
Reiss-McCormack</b> on view <b>THROUGH SEPTEBER 22, 2023 / </b>at<i> </i>The
Lemmon Visiting Artist Gallery, in the Fine Arts Building at Kent State
University at Stark, 6000 FRANK AVENUE NW, NORTH CANTON, OH / Gallery hours
Monday – Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.randireissmccormack.com/">https://www.randireissmccormack.com/</a>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During and after looking
at this mesmerizing exhibit of 14 abstract works by Baltimore-based painter and
fiber artist, Randi Reiss McCormack, a thought kept returning like a chant,
embedding itself in my memory. It is this: The picture wants what the picture
wants. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think of the initial gestures of placing
formal elements (lines, shapes, colors, textures) on a surface as a realization
of the artist’s will to voice a message, feeling, or story with a particular
visual vocabulary. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet as time progresses,
the distinctive grammar of the curious creature we call <i>abstract art </i>is
such that another agency can often enter the process of picture-making, spontaneously
investing the vocabulary with new nouns, verbs, objects. This agency is the
most ineffable of motivators. The closest term that comes to mind in describing
it is <i>intuition. </i>Something other than pre-learned or overt consciousness.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You might also call it magic, or enchantment. It
has a will of its own, even a desire, to be heard. It can push, pull, compel, or
constrain, as if conversing with the artist’s hand. The picture wants what the
picture wants, and seemingly instructs the artist. <i><o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In responding to this uncanny coalescence of
wills, Randi Reiss McCormack is equal parts bold, resourceful speaker and responsive
listener. She expands the parameters of painting beyond actions of the brush
with an array of impressive skills that include fiber techniques such as rug
tufting, needlepoint, embroidery and punch needle. Spinning yarns, weaving
tales… and sew it goes indeed. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her resulting imagery is an elaborate,
practically sculptural balancing of dualities at once earthbound and ethereal. The
entire exhibit is a sumptuous <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>tactile
metaphor, or allegorical suggestion of forces and forms inspired by nature, all
in constant, simultaneous states of becoming and dispersing. Here is a gripping
confluence and an alluring dialogue between matter and spirit in flux.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The enticing
bravura of Randi Reiss-McCormack’s artistry is wonderful to behold. And be <i>held,
</i>as in… touched. And so I confess to tasting the forbidden fruit of art show
etiquette by letting not only my eyes but also my fingers gently saunter over
the luscious and intricate diversity of these touchable terrains. I simply
couldn’t resist. I feel only a little guilty. After all, Reiss- McCormack
started it. She <i>made me </i>do it. She’s something of a shaman, you know. A
magician. <o:p></o:p></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-31784480016778549012023-08-25T17:59:00.004-07:002023-08-25T17:59:26.866-07:00X Marks the Spot<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>X Marks the Spot</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlDh4ZGlV8nh7UuLdnHo-PHcE2bO7OXfLr_sEixlSnzY6VbHhEbmNUtQiL7J-9MfoJAgUVHdQsyMaGEwfAz7C0uAFAsKuyB3Wrelq8x06vZCYQ1EnMzORAZxgCE7WKz3gPmuUpbUlGNtI9tXxiPg3Xft5JE03tCxJFAsF2pn0qN0gMNSFU4DZSyDLrayE/s4608/DSCN3517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlDh4ZGlV8nh7UuLdnHo-PHcE2bO7OXfLr_sEixlSnzY6VbHhEbmNUtQiL7J-9MfoJAgUVHdQsyMaGEwfAz7C0uAFAsKuyB3Wrelq8x06vZCYQ1EnMzORAZxgCE7WKz3gPmuUpbUlGNtI9tXxiPg3Xft5JE03tCxJFAsF2pn0qN0gMNSFU4DZSyDLrayE/s320/DSCN3517.JPG" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8wdFkRv9FjfouME9o_e_MOFxVE5vlY2lKDdo9x-YeXyMwii-u-sIcuZBN6dB7ehk_wEhrgn6ZJReTS0PsU5j2gglPrsIn0I7SF9J-a2BXJu556p47Shy9xb--M7aZsXQ16pfActADvY5-EAct2WmXcolKwJN3Hu9gp97BYnbhRlErIp48IXtNDsUPqBk/s4608/DSCN3520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8wdFkRv9FjfouME9o_e_MOFxVE5vlY2lKDdo9x-YeXyMwii-u-sIcuZBN6dB7ehk_wEhrgn6ZJReTS0PsU5j2gglPrsIn0I7SF9J-a2BXJu556p47Shy9xb--M7aZsXQ16pfActADvY5-EAct2WmXcolKwJN3Hu9gp97BYnbhRlErIp48IXtNDsUPqBk/s320/DSCN3520.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbMzZ83hYtGoTGQQnxFVuDlIF-z9noy34h9xFiRW68ptMeC6zuf4D-5xQUFV_Lv6XQ865q3zzTKN_3k7lSlYA55dJDUrykWhZ20_mJPiQIwJXfG6vCWQGqLwPvVNtElVwNIKfavfcX71TOtSv3WDIRn5FF6Nmb8D0taW3JZhuV5QQCW5alOdBkV-zLi0U/s3906/DSCN3518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3360" data-original-width="3906" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbMzZ83hYtGoTGQQnxFVuDlIF-z9noy34h9xFiRW68ptMeC6zuf4D-5xQUFV_Lv6XQ865q3zzTKN_3k7lSlYA55dJDUrykWhZ20_mJPiQIwJXfG6vCWQGqLwPvVNtElVwNIKfavfcX71TOtSv3WDIRn5FF6Nmb8D0taW3JZhuV5QQCW5alOdBkV-zLi0U/s320/DSCN3518.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skeleton // XXIII/II</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFr9jiQsv0ggdGtyHiYMJRsL1KxZGA3KBdSWu1xykTT4KvXII0ZnlV65jcvopqjxBFeexPwWWwGuTDZJLYNB98ZZ2N-qCfvh1Mci7k7us3HzLtb9SW03MR_iCP0eBUOB_Q6xbc7N7TsTdBOXrtFf7YZJfPmCMrz6akrZQPll6C3dJXxt-pjoxedSV5dQc/s4608/DSCN3515.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFr9jiQsv0ggdGtyHiYMJRsL1KxZGA3KBdSWu1xykTT4KvXII0ZnlV65jcvopqjxBFeexPwWWwGuTDZJLYNB98ZZ2N-qCfvh1Mci7k7us3HzLtb9SW03MR_iCP0eBUOB_Q6xbc7N7TsTdBOXrtFf7YZJfPmCMrz6akrZQPll6C3dJXxt-pjoxedSV5dQc/s320/DSCN3515.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skateboard decks</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQA_O8ig8_s2BKWWTSLjmEccTIRBpPbVNCth-dlbrZO7YzOTk4PFZ-GsgCSBxzZOEKgyZJ11vrBzkwEmdHJFEGyWZ5PHriZqCZfhNWPPwoNDfXYexJZqfUWPrAZgWIfaNVDxguAxSOLOjVCn5B51FCPyZXFirWkAGUVFSBMUYarPeyTBTUKoxRKiO5W14/s4608/DSCN3514.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQA_O8ig8_s2BKWWTSLjmEccTIRBpPbVNCth-dlbrZO7YzOTk4PFZ-GsgCSBxzZOEKgyZJ11vrBzkwEmdHJFEGyWZ5PHriZqCZfhNWPPwoNDfXYexJZqfUWPrAZgWIfaNVDxguAxSOLOjVCn5B51FCPyZXFirWkAGUVFSBMUYarPeyTBTUKoxRKiO5W14/s320/DSCN3514.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drella / II / 10.22</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYDCchAC9ClhshdAcy6VKWqHpVmb4eB-dcF1fwbXOyAjR3oUAPgWSYD6W1T3lSCjPMzuSNcZJj1U-3mswZthpEKEj9rFYzByJair2m6neJMlTb8pow4wXDRUoWYJEaltMbnmwxIyFe81hpcvZDJBBdOdI84Mu0Kep-tU9K-4RMkhyV7h6vPLMbbCafi4/s4608/DSCN3513.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYDCchAC9ClhshdAcy6VKWqHpVmb4eB-dcF1fwbXOyAjR3oUAPgWSYD6W1T3lSCjPMzuSNcZJj1U-3mswZthpEKEj9rFYzByJair2m6neJMlTb8pow4wXDRUoWYJEaltMbnmwxIyFe81hpcvZDJBBdOdI84Mu0Kep-tU9K-4RMkhyV7h6vPLMbbCafi4/s320/DSCN3513.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frank Sinatra // XXI</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkyDZOj46bnE5gyufhm8ytDl1sMXXXr7wbQVebLr4pq259XUo66cILY3X3BotbmJ-0I5PHQNkcPfNE93YxA-1Exs1H-9BeB8oaCJvuwrHaszFgeTZQkg5XZj5y4Z_NH-3ODO3hiSS2LfkYlKqoTAuuraDLl9pjRjRem0vuD3Pq3EwW87zS1ztMR_wSv_Q/s3833/DSCN3510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3833" data-original-width="3431" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkyDZOj46bnE5gyufhm8ytDl1sMXXXr7wbQVebLr4pq259XUo66cILY3X3BotbmJ-0I5PHQNkcPfNE93YxA-1Exs1H-9BeB8oaCJvuwrHaszFgeTZQkg5XZj5y4Z_NH-3ODO3hiSS2LfkYlKqoTAuuraDLl9pjRjRem0vuD3Pq3EwW87zS1ztMR_wSv_Q/s320/DSCN3510.JPG" width="286" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exploding Star // XXIII - X</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><o:p></o:p></b><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By Tom Wachunas</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“Follow your inner moonlight, don’t hide the madness”</b>
- Allen Ginsberg<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>"In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15
minutes." -</b>Andy Warhol<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>“Billy Ludwig’s mixed media pieces are meant to look as
though they were just cut off a downtown wall covered in guerrilla marketing
and/or artwork that was once hanging in an establishment like a museum that has
been abandoned — the structure set to be torn down after years of it and its
contents being vandalized, these pieces have been rescued from demolition.
Along with signature accents, each piece is embellished with various
information about the subject - significant numbers, latitude/longitudes,
quotes and more. The devil really is in the details…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>- from Billy Ludwig, at<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://billyludwig.net/mixed-media">https://billyludwig.net/mixed-media</a>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://billyludwig.net/bio">https://billyludwig.net/bio</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">EXHIBIT: <i>SKULL & BONES -The Artwork of Billy Ludwig /
</i><b>THROUGH SEPTEMBER 7<sup>th</sup> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>at
Cyrus Custom Framing and Art Gallery, 2645 Cleveland Ave. NW, Canton, Ohio / Viewing
hours: Monday - Friday 10am ish – 6pm / Saturday 11am - 3pm /Closed first
Saturday of the month and Closed on Sundays / (330) 452-9787 / <b>CLOSING
RECEPTION FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, at 6:30 p.m.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What does the name
of this monotonal exhibit – “Skull and Bones” – suggest to you? Pirate flags
and plundered booty? Mortality? Decay? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aaargh,
me mateys…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The entire gallery
space is saturated in a somber palette. Collectively, Billy Ludwig’s black-and-white
mixed media works on wood or canvas exude a palpable solemnity and, perhaps, a
funereal pallor. The visual un-glitziness of these pieces, given the nature of
their subject matter, is weirdly ironic, yet somehow still intriguing and provocative.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That subject matter
is largely built upon appropriated photos of famous people and characters. Celebrities.
Here are artists/entertainers, influencers, real as well as fictional, who have
become (for better or worse) luminous pop-culture icons. Treasured objects of
our worldly attention, affection, admiration. Presences now or once so bright
we call them… stars.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet their light, as
rendered here, often feels faded. Their likenesses are printed in glib shades
of grey. Sometimes they’re engaging, like a magazine glamour pic. And sometimes
they’re also quite mundane, like photos on a driver’s license, a passport, a
mug shot. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fame and celebrity
can be fickle, feckless and fleeting - a dazzling, death-defying skateboard
trick against inevitable gravity before the wheels fall off. Exhibited in this
context, a few of Ludwig’s dramatically stark abstract paintings might be
metaphorical reminders that fame and celebrity, like stars, explode. They end,
leaving behind only scribbles, splotches and shadows of their former glory.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To what
degree are all of us pirates, insatiable consumers, ever searching for and
seizing the latest greatest biggest bestest pleasure treasure the world has to
offer? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To the devil in the
details, here’s a tasty tidbit of ancient wisdom, from Ecclesiastes 1:8-9: <i>All
things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of
seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has
been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Aaargh, me
mateys.<o:p></o:p></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-34972985794764912432023-08-02T13:12:00.000-07:002023-08-02T13:12:04.308-07:00Mesmerizing Synchronies<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Mesmerzing
Synchronies </b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQOCBFLqXNhPkhbD8Bm0f-5NBQ7b95oo1nx2hZKSdCZJFqxhnYTwgK2bwi0oSn90CzOPb9FV_pq8d-2_0at8ooC5kc3ftcinAYFiYsNHsUPieYj42UuZqvV-9vHgavWS3HDnup3d37umPY3JWsfsTwGOvMhdcj7vkdgLof3ICiZwY-rudslljo8H_NS50/s4590/DSCN3502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2751" data-original-width="4590" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQOCBFLqXNhPkhbD8Bm0f-5NBQ7b95oo1nx2hZKSdCZJFqxhnYTwgK2bwi0oSn90CzOPb9FV_pq8d-2_0at8ooC5kc3ftcinAYFiYsNHsUPieYj42UuZqvV-9vHgavWS3HDnup3d37umPY3JWsfsTwGOvMhdcj7vkdgLof3ICiZwY-rudslljo8H_NS50/s320/DSCN3502.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Suspended Between</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibL1-GAnFMOMHkHvvcTTDlCY7xXBjMuNn2wThwcvrUoWBEYo60Nrw8W5bC1eg4t6d46P-z6AbhXNI6NjpVYLnzg_VmOM9yb1MhjbgdIEMKjdeE7hgoiSojjnVEMpmGRrhPYGJ25M7qy7ugIpwu6BXOoVmcOggjsVhw3vz-Y4ppFXAxhMomA3W_-0fDjiE/s3689/DSCN3499.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3434" data-original-width="3689" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibL1-GAnFMOMHkHvvcTTDlCY7xXBjMuNn2wThwcvrUoWBEYo60Nrw8W5bC1eg4t6d46P-z6AbhXNI6NjpVYLnzg_VmOM9yb1MhjbgdIEMKjdeE7hgoiSojjnVEMpmGRrhPYGJ25M7qy7ugIpwu6BXOoVmcOggjsVhw3vz-Y4ppFXAxhMomA3W_-0fDjiE/s320/DSCN3499.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Plying Together</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_hhCdMgB8HPhbGeJpfQaGOPEPi92LG5qq6KG9c3cCQ2zvNs1kWicZX3iGfzEcpZX_7WyV6MbZaQDdcwFPifiyKHerp5r9eFXAyWi-xwX69g4bm71FxGE1fUAZRLrc1esYr_dlH3aWEP5sVXpYRXJACCQUXza7YjIHn1JBn72vahJo4lutbVn2bVrTGTA/s3926/DSCN3493.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3926" data-original-width="3374" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_hhCdMgB8HPhbGeJpfQaGOPEPi92LG5qq6KG9c3cCQ2zvNs1kWicZX3iGfzEcpZX_7WyV6MbZaQDdcwFPifiyKHerp5r9eFXAyWi-xwX69g4bm71FxGE1fUAZRLrc1esYr_dlH3aWEP5sVXpYRXJACCQUXza7YjIHn1JBn72vahJo4lutbVn2bVrTGTA/s320/DSCN3493.JPG" width="275" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Out Of The Box</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBC0jMNpg1B2j3uUIhmgiI7rChK-PM_3-CN6n0HfBGcZzz56viUuGYEyHqaNP5XUiekZtPw0bdbUYZTHz8JGWp_WUeVVCsuOfDLSD_aPy6Bf5Lhm7gLzCRrd6VT4w9FCMP5VHD1gIHRfA4tVaeQMvOIBHzjkdJzjWkADbEQryhgrWOgm523wemX2VVzg/s3839/DSCN3492.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3442" data-original-width="3839" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBC0jMNpg1B2j3uUIhmgiI7rChK-PM_3-CN6n0HfBGcZzz56viUuGYEyHqaNP5XUiekZtPw0bdbUYZTHz8JGWp_WUeVVCsuOfDLSD_aPy6Bf5Lhm7gLzCRrd6VT4w9FCMP5VHD1gIHRfA4tVaeQMvOIBHzjkdJzjWkADbEQryhgrWOgm523wemX2VVzg/s320/DSCN3492.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Imaginative Space Evoked</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1YK4YsJR_gdrAyklbkqJ8hyF4Ecj-t1oDoyzSCm8qcXYePclpftLFrSIsgo6rcki3h2tk8pwh4t83fFRSwHa97UpBOdotbDpY-rdiXW_GBqPiLVjXZRz6gYtnTLlkZjOkSZin4Vy-vZVXrJ9_oug_caJZ2K6chlZx6d3pKh1HuJ70FzEfS0vF2xHyrAc/s3799/DSCN3491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3442" data-original-width="3799" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1YK4YsJR_gdrAyklbkqJ8hyF4Ecj-t1oDoyzSCm8qcXYePclpftLFrSIsgo6rcki3h2tk8pwh4t83fFRSwHa97UpBOdotbDpY-rdiXW_GBqPiLVjXZRz6gYtnTLlkZjOkSZin4Vy-vZVXrJ9_oug_caJZ2K6chlZx6d3pKh1HuJ70FzEfS0vF2xHyrAc/s320/DSCN3491.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Lattice Woven</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwlS2VIdSk-xFMu23mDVpdSEJFoZQ_GQxYplZg3YfYF--PDKmOWazHJWGrfB2QOZw9Tzf5KntAYSFmEbFlgTijrlN1FMT7oiCn78upxPdwSsL6sdLs1EparxWg2CUfysStHJOgf04pdL3VTr3uJdB5WCltVe0BY4RX05gizjdhCZdPTBAWF70eGiwY4HE/s882/359819601_10230929056989338_1812900682941462999_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="882" data-original-width="712" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwlS2VIdSk-xFMu23mDVpdSEJFoZQ_GQxYplZg3YfYF--PDKmOWazHJWGrfB2QOZw9Tzf5KntAYSFmEbFlgTijrlN1FMT7oiCn78upxPdwSsL6sdLs1EparxWg2CUfysStHJOgf04pdL3VTr3uJdB5WCltVe0BY4RX05gizjdhCZdPTBAWF70eGiwY4HE/s320/359819601_10230929056989338_1812900682941462999_n.jpg" width="258" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>X Blue Hue</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By Tom Wachunas </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Just look around: in modern life, the grid is
everywhere… The grid is the net that connects art with the increasingly ordered
qualities of day-to-day life. As Rosalind Krauss wrote, “logically speaking,
the grid extends, in all directions, to infinity.” </i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- Nessia Pope, <i>ARTSPACE</i> curator, from
“How the Grid Conquered Contemporary Art” (2014)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>I think it's really useful to create parameters. The term
you use can be forwarded into something more like a grid, a rubric, a system
that you apply to all environments, and in so doing you create a situation in
which you can locate local color, local differences within new environments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- </b>Kehinde Wiley<span style="text-align: center;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>liminal: </b>of, relating to, or situated at a sensory
threshold ; of, relating to, or being an intermediate state, phase, or
condition : IN-BETWEEN, TRANSITIONAL<b><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>synchrony: </b>the way in which two or more things
happen, develop, move, etc. at the same time or speed<b><i><o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">EXHIBIT: <i>LIMINAL – paintings by Mary Crane Nutter<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>/ </i><b>THROUGH AUGUST</b> <b>18, 2023</b>,
at Strauss Studios Gallery<i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>/ 236
Walnut Ave NE in downtown Canton, OH / M – F 10a.m. to 5p.m.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Background / Bio info and images:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://john-strauss-furniture.myshopify.com/collections/mary-crane-nutter?page=1">https://john-strauss-furniture.myshopify.com/collections/mary-crane-nutter?page=1</a>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://mcraneart.com/">https://mcraneart.com/</a></p>
<div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><b><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></b>EXCERPTS: <b>Mary</b> <b><i>Crane
Nutter lives in Walla Walla, Washington, where her studio is located at her
home/small farm with a traditional wood barn. Several years ago, she partnered
with her sister, Sarah Crane, a graphic designer and photographer to create a
neighborhood art and performance experience for the local community at the
farm. In creating that experience, she began to make color blocked paintings on
panels that were inspired by Pennsylvania Dutch barn star artwork… “If it had
not been for that experience, I would not be making the paintings I am making
today”, she explained. “It is here in Walla Walla, while immersed in quiet
country living… that my mind travelled back to fond memories of my late
Grandmother Doris and the many hours I spent as a child watching her create
beautiful quilts.</i></b></p></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think about what Mary Crane Nutter has called
her immersion in “quiet country living” as an initial motivation - and a conceptual
foundation – for making her mesmerizing acrylic paintings on wood panels. Most
of her works in this exhibit are layered geometric abstractions rendered with mellifluous
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>chromatic harmonies and a vigorous
linear precision.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interestingly enough, there are few instantly
familiar rural or agricultural tropes, much less any stereotypical scenes of
what we would readily identify as bucolic, pastoral or backwoodsy. In that
sense they’re not prosaic illustrations of specific localities so much as poetic
implications. I’m thinking of them as metaphorical pictographs. Poetry for the
eyes. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A central formal element in Nutter’s intricate
compositions is the inclusion of intermingled grid motifs in varying dimensions
and positions. Here are grids within grids. They can suggest any number of life’s
recurring physical patterns and topographies, like meticulously stitched
patchwork quilts; like houses or barns or whole neighborhoods – themselves typically
constructed on wooden grids; like the fields on which those structures stand,
fields often scored and furrowed with crisscrossed lines left by by plows or
lawn mowers or rows and rows of crops; like woodlands with their networks of
vertical tree trunks and horizontal branches.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Embedded within many of these grid
configurations are circular forms. Such bold emblems might suggest everything
from windows and magnifying lenses, to shimmering, multi-colored bubbles
reflecting a changing sky, or the organic textures of soil and wood. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In any case, they
serve perhaps as arresting encouragement for viewers to fully look a-<i>round </i>at
Nutter’s intriguing ciphers. And really, the only requirement for decoding them
is to immerse yourself in the grid – the country, if you will – of your own
imagination.<i> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-22708736132650756352023-07-20T07:40:00.000-07:002023-07-20T07:40:28.461-07:00Novus Ordo Seclorum<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Novus Ordo
Seclorum </b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5rsQ_YXtgj6l0pZLfiz6BF6ZJtqNBF5oYM5t6M16PqHsEN0U0O1LC6f-puNB33WHIk8iOzyH684tPB5oPFQd73yfREMBDWoFoOYmJdbbxtRt4sVeM5lYqHh6gzQc8FakyUY4yQqpNRPQUNUd3ywtYWUVbP_aQkFub8U-ihb7vyAb57vn0dHn4kjopBjE/s4608/Wachunas_Scars%20and%20Stripes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5rsQ_YXtgj6l0pZLfiz6BF6ZJtqNBF5oYM5t6M16PqHsEN0U0O1LC6f-puNB33WHIk8iOzyH684tPB5oPFQd73yfREMBDWoFoOYmJdbbxtRt4sVeM5lYqHh6gzQc8FakyUY4yQqpNRPQUNUd3ywtYWUVbP_aQkFub8U-ihb7vyAb57vn0dHn4kjopBjE/s320/Wachunas_Scars%20and%20Stripes.JPG" width="240" /></a></b></div><b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBDBh3xeupULFHvOlm44dNreyMVQNn5XuTQhh2xz-pxpB24hyo-loxQcWxVOiKJ1Wkrp71HpnJcDFVk-ULf7dIateCl__c5IReeQ4GlFrTfpGNlSHlaT1k01QtGz-nM1dYkSD1Foo55R2jOX9RVLfwSiYqzCDqJyN9TiCCt9tvYPG8m1hSNoSdw63_UOA/s4608/DSCN3508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBDBh3xeupULFHvOlm44dNreyMVQNn5XuTQhh2xz-pxpB24hyo-loxQcWxVOiKJ1Wkrp71HpnJcDFVk-ULf7dIateCl__c5IReeQ4GlFrTfpGNlSHlaT1k01QtGz-nM1dYkSD1Foo55R2jOX9RVLfwSiYqzCDqJyN9TiCCt9tvYPG8m1hSNoSdw63_UOA/s320/DSCN3508.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAFryymWYGu8qS-wAUm4vMaHoUJN3MoiJEZ-1m1O9u1ekpNLsy57bc3Sgki7HleBiZNK1mJnl6Mc2TxirB8jkaVGmX-Ss9TVfh2JRjF6yZxbJucg4bsJvcmhoCgyy0ot4i4nknnlMEWZH7OrO6X0pnDjxB42y6LNT-WFEi72a25Z6x0NkXzx87tdN2uSw/s4608/Wachunas_Scars%20and%20Stripes%20(detail).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAFryymWYGu8qS-wAUm4vMaHoUJN3MoiJEZ-1m1O9u1ekpNLsy57bc3Sgki7HleBiZNK1mJnl6Mc2TxirB8jkaVGmX-Ss9TVfh2JRjF6yZxbJucg4bsJvcmhoCgyy0ot4i4nknnlMEWZH7OrO6X0pnDjxB42y6LNT-WFEi72a25Z6x0NkXzx87tdN2uSw/s320/Wachunas_Scars%20and%20Stripes%20(detail).JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvyisZN-lLsc_qw6VLKCfSqnkUjK6oMIZLkn2XLifMT-nAoZUYLxazjzk3lpyAj4ECl4YSVJRC3VQ0N1nUcQW0Yn2i6lcW4T8210mszVFHzwmTfLTsPgklumaRlujCMhs6aFRru3vZwR84przqd6XQgZVDu9md-esf-PZTJ8ZQ4v_VFdc4hvH2ikJYx3w/s1225/US_one_dollar_bill,_reverse,_series_2009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="1225" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvyisZN-lLsc_qw6VLKCfSqnkUjK6oMIZLkn2XLifMT-nAoZUYLxazjzk3lpyAj4ECl4YSVJRC3VQ0N1nUcQW0Yn2i6lcW4T8210mszVFHzwmTfLTsPgklumaRlujCMhs6aFRru3vZwR84przqd6XQgZVDu9md-esf-PZTJ8ZQ4v_VFdc4hvH2ikJYx3w/s320/US_one_dollar_bill,_reverse,_series_2009.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><o:p></o:p></b><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By Tom Wachunas </p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Seal_of_the_United_States">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Seal_of_the_United_States</a> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My most recent work
is a collage on canvas (20” x 16”), called <i>Scars and Stripes.<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>OK, so I’m a
word-play maniac. Maybe think of this piece as a crime seen, or State of the
Contusion address. Let me explain:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>In the course of human events, in order to form a more
perfect<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>fight, we the people, in our
twilight’s last perilous gleaming, give proof through the night of bombs,
bursting what so proudly we hailed. Oh say! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can you yet see, o’er the ramparts, a new
order of the ages?<o:p></o:p></b></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-22073256177616926892023-07-18T13:27:00.002-07:002023-07-18T13:28:34.588-07:00Between the seams, a fibrous journal<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Between the seams,
a fibrous journal</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91RM4JYSLseS-8hZ22yddDCG3uwGiVCYpS6VGeGxuO8y_GFnjdWrGToVXo57acd0rvga7gKstnpVRxf7D8S9RUMAmFsh9XE00uHz_S4qLyFkwfDkm01ZZ2U-_BFDu_c6_QmwDodayOnvNnb25-3ezq-OK0d5dW_J--4cwKdpBN3lnDfoSS6fuvupOxFk/s4608/DSCN3469.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91RM4JYSLseS-8hZ22yddDCG3uwGiVCYpS6VGeGxuO8y_GFnjdWrGToVXo57acd0rvga7gKstnpVRxf7D8S9RUMAmFsh9XE00uHz_S4qLyFkwfDkm01ZZ2U-_BFDu_c6_QmwDodayOnvNnb25-3ezq-OK0d5dW_J--4cwKdpBN3lnDfoSS6fuvupOxFk/s320/DSCN3469.JPG" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqUPOen_6p4-6dOpdw8Gga19TwUvlmBopuVIIhMO2AEAkEyPoMnDo-3wSdEqia4--KlYBf_64BqSJ6VqOgmoist-tW-KwnERysq99x3uHCqtBjVZmXBhjRWUszdPjRjG5ycKmsYS6005p0jQtDGfRYLFmgKohNrgfQnZfQy3mSN47sIl-anAmeBeCsTc/s4608/DSCN3472.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="2458" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqUPOen_6p4-6dOpdw8Gga19TwUvlmBopuVIIhMO2AEAkEyPoMnDo-3wSdEqia4--KlYBf_64BqSJ6VqOgmoist-tW-KwnERysq99x3uHCqtBjVZmXBhjRWUszdPjRjG5ycKmsYS6005p0jQtDGfRYLFmgKohNrgfQnZfQy3mSN47sIl-anAmeBeCsTc/s320/DSCN3472.JPG" width="171" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Everloving (</i>top) / <i>Because You're Safe</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAIhFCDRfEgW1J6UJni_1wthcAcFptwkylVt3APfOxDy-1Xfjt5ftcxVzCjOTZwc2mtKEYOa2DGtRUKKnyUj14LneCygZuL7y60nK8xwrpOfNtLdhB3yfE2c5FBLwp1WnRUzBvsqKBQsjosiKBCUefyoOdCL22E7av3KleYQptXZe7YkjDj3jIfueWfkY/s4608/DSCN3480.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAIhFCDRfEgW1J6UJni_1wthcAcFptwkylVt3APfOxDy-1Xfjt5ftcxVzCjOTZwc2mtKEYOa2DGtRUKKnyUj14LneCygZuL7y60nK8xwrpOfNtLdhB3yfE2c5FBLwp1WnRUzBvsqKBQsjosiKBCUefyoOdCL22E7av3KleYQptXZe7YkjDj3jIfueWfkY/s320/DSCN3480.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I don't do well</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvKy1PdU6tKQ9udE_kCgRsWm3CLOEIfBCSu7seVzNO_bevrLbp0vP1HsLhgZ8qrnNRp3e8Zh-VsDLt48PqL762wi7KJD1B9JIYXxFR0XOQaqQxFezHB6yKsKINlTWunLdMxfe1G-IS-iPOqBig5_3DyR-jALPvD8KBPLmutjOdWsyycsCec7wfDtnVoo/s4509/DSCN3477.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3006" data-original-width="4509" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvKy1PdU6tKQ9udE_kCgRsWm3CLOEIfBCSu7seVzNO_bevrLbp0vP1HsLhgZ8qrnNRp3e8Zh-VsDLt48PqL762wi7KJD1B9JIYXxFR0XOQaqQxFezHB6yKsKINlTWunLdMxfe1G-IS-iPOqBig5_3DyR-jALPvD8KBPLmutjOdWsyycsCec7wfDtnVoo/s320/DSCN3477.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>after all these years who is that staring back at me?</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha4ZTVVVzGKjDD_bobndCNeb5wMhJ3iOeUVp_sPMhYsgHyh2s3BenixVHTlunC35t6CXmU6w98GXEFJNznaFIdL9JbpBgG_sgvvIZRx6i4vv8doeMCzzXsPtCZQH-Gsqb8NsXwhykvQ8lE8jtYxI7Fc9h-g1TyQOwAUeuuDYPj2mV4QCakyoEe-7uFPX8/s4608/DSCN3474.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha4ZTVVVzGKjDD_bobndCNeb5wMhJ3iOeUVp_sPMhYsgHyh2s3BenixVHTlunC35t6CXmU6w98GXEFJNznaFIdL9JbpBgG_sgvvIZRx6i4vv8doeMCzzXsPtCZQH-Gsqb8NsXwhykvQ8lE8jtYxI7Fc9h-g1TyQOwAUeuuDYPj2mV4QCakyoEe-7uFPX8/s320/DSCN3474.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>you're more graceful than that</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq8QLdvQTMV9FXa8iYxBWyS5NvT-EWXlfNnzCw6MpVFfuAxql-s5vG7As2n50Sq85_onnUQ7MoP9hkbv5Lom8sJZ8IG9i-Ui_tmZZBb26oHNCZ1M7R0REJTq-yc23Q31SO4Tv9wH7cQeX8Y-jQnfSKM52AHXFRj9Dc7b8PKPiYjBnsLLxlYt1KpFh1OME/s4608/DSCN3470.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq8QLdvQTMV9FXa8iYxBWyS5NvT-EWXlfNnzCw6MpVFfuAxql-s5vG7As2n50Sq85_onnUQ7MoP9hkbv5Lom8sJZ8IG9i-Ui_tmZZBb26oHNCZ1M7R0REJTq-yc23Q31SO4Tv9wH7cQeX8Y-jQnfSKM52AHXFRj9Dc7b8PKPiYjBnsLLxlYt1KpFh1OME/s320/DSCN3470.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My stomach hurts</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><o:p></o:p></b><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By Tom Wachunas<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“What does it feel like when our race against the clock
overshadows the likelihood of preserving memories? Moving through grief, time,
and the end of a transformative decade, I explore my origins in an effort to
grasp this new life…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>- Sarah C.
Blanchette artist statement<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“Sometimes you will never know the value of something until
it becomes a memory.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>- Dr. Seuss<b style="text-align: center;"><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>EXHIBIT: </b><i>Sarah C. Blanchette: All Shook Up</i><b>—</b>textiles
and mixed media<b> </b>prints / <b>Through July 23, 2023</b>, in Studio M at
Massillon Museum / <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>located at 121
Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon. For more information, call 330-833-4061,
or visit<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://massillonmuseum.org/blog/MassMu-News/MassMus-Studio-M-to-Exhibit-Artwork-by-Sarah-C-Blanchette">https://massillonmuseum.org/blog/MassMu-News/MassMus-Studio-M-to-Exhibit-Artwork-by-Sarah-C-Blanchette</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">From Massillon Museum: “<i>Sarah C. Blanchette is a
photo-based fiber artist who works out of the Detroit area. Through repetitive
acts of hand and machine sewing and physical manipulations of the
self-portrait, she documents her coming of age in a digital world while
embarking on a journey toward growth and autonomy in womanhood.”<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>_____________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Inside this
remarkably provocative Studio M exhibit of works by Sarah C. Blanchette, the
very air in the room feels dense, even desperate. Saturated with introspective
solemnity. The walls themselves project a gravitas. They’re not supporting
bright, eye-popping colors. Instead, they appear stark and heavy, weighted with
billowy splotches of …what?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the pieces were
made with digital thermal print scans printed on velvet, cotton thread, vinyl
and batting, and largely handsewn. Blanchette calls them “tactile tapestries,”
and “journal-esque monochrome velvet quilts.” Imagery and words are stitched
together, gleaned from personal and familial sources, spanning various moments across
time, including voice recordings and family communications posted in social
media. In her statement, the artist writes that, <i>“…when brought together,
these documentations served as resources to express the terror that time is
slipping away…” </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blanchette also adds
that her artworks “…<i>beg the viewer to consider their weight</i>.” <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So here’s one of
those potent occasions when viewing art evokes, of all things, spelunking. Don’t
just glance <i>at </i>this art. See <i>into </i>it,<i> </i>as if peering into,
and then entering, a cave. A cave holding memories. Some bright and bold,
others a bit murky. In any case, what I find most engaging about Blanchette’s works
are the intriguing questions they raise about the dynamics, the lifespan, the
preservation of memories and the truths they hold, or hide.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does a memory have
a physique, a measurable mass or weight? Can a memory exude light? If so, will
that illuminated physical presence, that present-ness, be necessarily
diminished by the relentless passage of time? And during that inevitable passage,
will the light from our accumulated memories be dimmed or fade away completely?
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Making art is certainly one of our culture’s
most courageous – and loving - acts of memory preservation. As Blanchette so
poignantly observes in her statement, her new pieces “…<i>have become the most
dependable form of preservation…They won’t ever disappear, even as their
subjects do.”<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One more metaphor.
Truly compelling artworks are like the sturdiest of ships carrying real
treasure, and able to survive the storm-ravaged seas of passing time. Sarah
Blanchette’s creations are indeed see-worthy vessels. <o:p></o:p></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-78053832525176353042023-07-13T13:39:00.000-07:002023-07-13T13:39:19.393-07:00Scott Alan Evans Phones Home<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Scott Alan Evans
Phones Home</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG5Q57hWBt2V1VS43b-mTt_Pb1TO1Mv2lhGCiMU-j1OKkr8-dAcEMab6VFSP92gP_7lJH8p84F9Q0iVzpqjFtzyGWS_90ssiNh4JtxriY5seNX8QL3p0ME7X5XBsEWRnECE6ZiZ5pUt5TNfADJ2dUGktUPwrt9FTP2MHHyXyTD4u-CTtmP0ZfcwEXJocg/s4608/DSCN3482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG5Q57hWBt2V1VS43b-mTt_Pb1TO1Mv2lhGCiMU-j1OKkr8-dAcEMab6VFSP92gP_7lJH8p84F9Q0iVzpqjFtzyGWS_90ssiNh4JtxriY5seNX8QL3p0ME7X5XBsEWRnECE6ZiZ5pUt5TNfADJ2dUGktUPwrt9FTP2MHHyXyTD4u-CTtmP0ZfcwEXJocg/s320/DSCN3482.JPG" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtqLUn0sz6RF12KXJ5nXvB_h9tOmme1ocelH_yJLjeh3hqj7C4q8cuwX5HqZhH93Q8_9JkLFtTYdwHWi6lzyb1-pwln2v_TD5yOPuIPAIhlEA9BODhjCar7fU-QveMdCFVXNHeyhQz_HYXNgWRmlj07RcjZFaRaj0DXXSDfx5oQjIBBmWP5jNV2lry_mw/s4608/DSCN3490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtqLUn0sz6RF12KXJ5nXvB_h9tOmme1ocelH_yJLjeh3hqj7C4q8cuwX5HqZhH93Q8_9JkLFtTYdwHWi6lzyb1-pwln2v_TD5yOPuIPAIhlEA9BODhjCar7fU-QveMdCFVXNHeyhQz_HYXNgWRmlj07RcjZFaRaj0DXXSDfx5oQjIBBmWP5jNV2lry_mw/s320/DSCN3490.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Alien Egg III</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidSozUCTDiGXgOpW9-EURjepGy-SMuZmxckIc28OV5cIkpfheI4yXzX0T4JDhnn3VStlDhRlOxov6Hhb2YwJQP6eYQAr1kJeD1bErO8PYn_T_iuEpLh9JhNC8D5xcka9qnon7omMkTpQatfxn6z2GTUSUa57l8ynWg0uTy1hJ_VgTs2ZvVdhBK_04ip40/s4608/DSCN3489.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidSozUCTDiGXgOpW9-EURjepGy-SMuZmxckIc28OV5cIkpfheI4yXzX0T4JDhnn3VStlDhRlOxov6Hhb2YwJQP6eYQAr1kJeD1bErO8PYn_T_iuEpLh9JhNC8D5xcka9qnon7omMkTpQatfxn6z2GTUSUa57l8ynWg0uTy1hJ_VgTs2ZvVdhBK_04ip40/s320/DSCN3489.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>ALIEN</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOMlenOdZjYsskabV8DbFdNkUXjL2oPwgYfjYmJ0C9vgIaLfCk_ihqYGa4nLKmAVBZmzKnMSqFEtWnIg3Te2MtcxdSuTQhBEg1lEf-2nq6P9norR-p6NV93JtDbo7M4oTiPP1rN4aao65CiNkEvVMEtxLC6drrMZdzc9UsnjGYhmklCGHd0QDClqj7AvM/s3855/DSCN3488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3855" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOMlenOdZjYsskabV8DbFdNkUXjL2oPwgYfjYmJ0C9vgIaLfCk_ihqYGa4nLKmAVBZmzKnMSqFEtWnIg3Te2MtcxdSuTQhBEg1lEf-2nq6P9norR-p6NV93JtDbo7M4oTiPP1rN4aao65CiNkEvVMEtxLC6drrMZdzc9UsnjGYhmklCGHd0QDClqj7AvM/s320/DSCN3488.JPG" width="287" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Chestburster (ALIEN)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP5TlrxtoMqWxIXumJZmY2c1-TMKIEAuVuRSxkB1Q-k5o5Zf9vjKhYxGGu5XwO0lAdnQM6yAbnwarBH069jEwLvP8QD0PJi0Zf0Fxm15-wZsoUNB7rYQPs9Avn1CSDAwcEfLkegD77EC84JlRXUtXFNPPs8Lsq0jyp6dl7vwNgwjmfoPSfwamiddDeZXQ/s4038/DSCN3486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4038" data-original-width="3455" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP5TlrxtoMqWxIXumJZmY2c1-TMKIEAuVuRSxkB1Q-k5o5Zf9vjKhYxGGu5XwO0lAdnQM6yAbnwarBH069jEwLvP8QD0PJi0Zf0Fxm15-wZsoUNB7rYQPs9Avn1CSDAwcEfLkegD77EC84JlRXUtXFNPPs8Lsq0jyp6dl7vwNgwjmfoPSfwamiddDeZXQ/s320/DSCN3486.JPG" width="274" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ack Ack Ack (Mars Attacks)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXnpRKHIDGJtX9dFBukh52wVmH3VLuOUW5HsIl7ivS98rMaURjICc4ryjlTrg0g0N9c-3PgAEjTq6MID7QW23dNx93rkS2ZyPeDG7zSE-Cxd6h3vTWb7u2yf2f0MHx5FLY8x5b-ug8KWrR6kIi5kfyv9FXM3Hcw-kzcAsZaeWHD6dUNuf8OKa-_ptoDxo/s4096/DSCN3484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4096" data-original-width="3438" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXnpRKHIDGJtX9dFBukh52wVmH3VLuOUW5HsIl7ivS98rMaURjICc4ryjlTrg0g0N9c-3PgAEjTq6MID7QW23dNx93rkS2ZyPeDG7zSE-Cxd6h3vTWb7u2yf2f0MHx5FLY8x5b-ug8KWrR6kIi5kfyv9FXM3Hcw-kzcAsZaeWHD6dUNuf8OKa-_ptoDxo/s320/DSCN3484.JPG" width="269" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Blair Thing</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOZFb1QpMK_T_xYwGnXbFmYgutWlnJLYpC71D87Oq_8RvNU3Z4quoNk_oiHEO8OjeI0uZI7bu3kQ4vEEj5-Edy01H0yKlcd9K4Xy1RDRIScyzZXQvG0jakgKYE1slsBSI4GcYMoEMHFKIdN7fQODW630vxsTbw-3i2FR1lKl18gxrHYeqsV6JTCH4JtRE/s4608/DSCN3483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOZFb1QpMK_T_xYwGnXbFmYgutWlnJLYpC71D87Oq_8RvNU3Z4quoNk_oiHEO8OjeI0uZI7bu3kQ4vEEj5-Edy01H0yKlcd9K4Xy1RDRIScyzZXQvG0jakgKYE1slsBSI4GcYMoEMHFKIdN7fQODW630vxsTbw-3i2FR1lKl18gxrHYeqsV6JTCH4JtRE/s320/DSCN3483.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Palmer Thing</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><o:p></o:p></b><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By Tom Wachunas</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“You know, Burke, I don’t know which species is worse.”</b>
– Ripley, from <i>Alien<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“Klaatu barada nikto.” – </b>from <i>The Day the Earth
Stood Still</i><span style="text-align: center;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">EXHIBIT: <i>Shock! Horror! Whizz! Bang! – Paintings by Scott
Alan Evans / </i>at<i> </i>Patina Arts Center / 324 Cleveland Avenue NW in
downtown Canton, Ohio / <b>Through July 29, 2023 / </b>Gallery hours: Thursday
Noon to 8p.m., Friday 7p.m. to 10p.m., Saturday Noon to 9p.m.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Imagine, if you dare,
watching the likes of Edvard Munch, Francis Bacon or Vincent van Gogh (and for
that matter, a host of other expressionist paint pushers, living and dead, do
come to mind here) pumped up on some sorta performance-enhancer (not that they
really need it), and then executing a portrait. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well…they’re heeeere.
Get a load of the spanking new works by Scott Alan Evans.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So yes, the pictures in this exhibit are, for
the most part, portraits. In this case, portraits of some iconic characters from
Movie Land. To be precise, monsters, robots, and aliens you might love to hate or
hate to love. As formal compositions, they’re uncomplicated, never too cute,
and all at once simple, stark, halting, haunting. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In as much as I’ve come to detest the woefully
overused term ‘painterly’ as an adequate descriptor of artistic technique, for
the moment I plead guilty to applying it. To be more specific, Evans’ acrylic
paintings on canvas are ample proof of a very aggressive if not playful hand at
work. His is a frenzied - and to some degree delightfully puerile - hand, given
to spontaneous moments of laying down colors impasto-style, then quickly adding
tonal variations that get unceremoniously smooshed, swiped or scraped. Call it
a rude blending. And interestingly enough, these visceral surfaces don’t look
so much like the liquid rubbery stuff of acrylic, but rather exude an unrefined,
earthy sheen of oil paint. So…painterly it is after all. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can see how avid
fans of kitschy sci-fi horror flicks, gripped as they may be by feverish
nostalgia, could well find these works “charming” in some darker sense of the
word. Some of the paintings are unabashedly lurid caricatures. Others have a
genuine, humorous edge about them. Still others are truly frightening in their
unfettered boldness.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever your
tastes may be, I highly recommend coming to the gallery this coming Saturday,
July 15, 7p.m. to 9p.m., to meet and talk with Scott Alan Evans as he discusses
his inspiration and processes. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While you’re there, be sure to ask him: Ack
ack ack, klaatu barada niktu?<o:p></o:p></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-66761173344924813342023-06-09T11:06:00.000-07:002023-06-09T11:06:44.635-07:00Live. Breathe. Sing. Love.<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Live. Breathe. Sing. Love. </b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTgPFznO7ouP9oINSLGmuBuhK4GrhiC0qTMBfbnKE8XL5_eW3Eyp0ERIh2q6NfGPU3Acp96uiIlN26ZA5ecqGOllGEsZpSGC5NPs4a7XSRwUpNoo1pHlFCx3iFGl-uaOQuc9RvyCQsZKDlp0e86FNRv8JzM08GTVNSc4mfVsfoOwEaNkoY0aJ5CSn/s1536/gerhardt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1536" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTgPFznO7ouP9oINSLGmuBuhK4GrhiC0qTMBfbnKE8XL5_eW3Eyp0ERIh2q6NfGPU3Acp96uiIlN26ZA5ecqGOllGEsZpSGC5NPs4a7XSRwUpNoo1pHlFCx3iFGl-uaOQuc9RvyCQsZKDlp0e86FNRv8JzM08GTVNSc4mfVsfoOwEaNkoY0aJ5CSn/s320/gerhardt.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja0OUvuCT0PhFwO2Ysn2cZUj93FEDhrWtlgpQf39eQl14ycqvp_wR_QHeOEMrmw1zC-urKq5In_R_BQ171_47U8QdTVApb6yPdw2AGpOq5OaKQG5FBb6X9fiNmlgfxAhQzjBycpUx6eghIrIp16aRZ4_om5x6hV89WMKeq22RT5ZABEyl3fanrcOtL/s1320/gerhardt%20two.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1320" data-original-width="880" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja0OUvuCT0PhFwO2Ysn2cZUj93FEDhrWtlgpQf39eQl14ycqvp_wR_QHeOEMrmw1zC-urKq5In_R_BQ171_47U8QdTVApb6yPdw2AGpOq5OaKQG5FBb6X9fiNmlgfxAhQzjBycpUx6eghIrIp16aRZ4_om5x6hV89WMKeq22RT5ZABEyl3fanrcOtL/s320/gerhardt%20two.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such
things. </i></b>– Philipians 4:8<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And finally,
brothers and sisters, as I hope is the case for so many of us in this presently
numbing moment, my sadness can be greatly diminished, perhaps even overcome,
only by the power of unfettered gratitude. Gratitude for the blessed gift, the
gem, that is Gerhardt Zimmermann.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank You, Maestro, for stirring, indeed
igniting, my soul. Thank You for listening to what has called you. Thank You
for the truly profound impact of your artistry, the sheer nobility and praiseworthy
excellence of your loving vision and passion. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so to my
readers, here is the letter which Gerhardt recently wrote to his family of
orchestra musicians.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Dear Canton Symphony Orchestra Musicians,<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>I hope this letter finds you well and surrounded by the
joy of music. It is with profound sadness and a heavy heart that I write to you
today to share some difficult news. After nearly 50 extraordinary years of
leading this marvelous orchestra, it is my responsibility to inform you of a
significant decline in my health and my transition to Hospice care.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Throughout the past half-century, it has been an absolute
privilege and honor to stand before this exceptional group of musicians as your
conductor. Together, we have created unforgettable experiences for ourselves
and our audiences. The dedication, talent, and passion that each of you brings
to our performances have made the Canton Symphony Orchestra a beacon of
excellence in the world of classical music. The music we have brought to life,
the harmonies we have crafted, and the emotional landscapes we have traversed
are a testament to the power of our collective artistry. The Canton Symphony
Orchestra has become my musical family; it is the gem that many people search
their whole lives for and never find and I was lucky enough to have it for so
many years.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Though my body may weaken, my love for music and the incredible
talent each of you possesses remains undiminished. I implore each and every one
of you to continue nurturing music; embrace the beauty of every note, find
inspiration in every measure, and strive for excellence in every performance.
Cherish the camaraderie that exists within this orchestra, for it is the bond
that fuels our collective brilliance.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Please understand that I will forever be with you in
spirit, even if I am unable to stand on the podium. Your dedication, talent,
and commitment have made the Canton Symphony Orchestra an artistic force to be
reckoned with, and I have the utmost faith in your ability to carry that torch
forward. May music always be your guide, and may the passion in your hearts
continue to ignite the souls of your audiences. Never stop pursuing the beauty
that lies within each note.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Sitting in the orchestra for the first time at Bowling
Green, it was as if the heavens opened up. From that moment on, a conductor was
all I wanted to be. In life, if you're going to do it, give it all you can.
Live it. Breath it. Sing it. Enjoy it. Love it. Sing, sing, sing...<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gerhardt<o:p></o:p></b></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-69192396825183067342023-06-07T06:16:00.000-07:002023-06-07T06:16:41.127-07:00Avian Ardor<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Avian Ardor </b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNo0rwV9PR7W8FzCSwfUfIt6QcfvevPgAZnOAzlvlxGN5wzOesjwCahiGBWe9a3zV7F6Q6vNmpGtCdNJ3mlI58CrQdUZS9H_F87LkT_-YpFge2qU7-W74Neyi7l5Q3fMrdfMB6xK-6EhJFPmdZR608WYOns1d3HBH83409FX5gYgGJtpBasSWjp57n/s3643/DSCN3457.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3442" data-original-width="3643" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNo0rwV9PR7W8FzCSwfUfIt6QcfvevPgAZnOAzlvlxGN5wzOesjwCahiGBWe9a3zV7F6Q6vNmpGtCdNJ3mlI58CrQdUZS9H_F87LkT_-YpFge2qU7-W74Neyi7l5Q3fMrdfMB6xK-6EhJFPmdZR608WYOns1d3HBH83409FX5gYgGJtpBasSWjp57n/s320/DSCN3457.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Ring Around the Rosie</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrnw6My5dyM642WhqT7D473TyolqYy8kotzw19bbnhpO6dp-e-B6dNIoiNk0OgqiSd3Gvuum9EhTb9hZM2mt8QWJV_K9IRyKDpD5LeqcvPLkYknyDr1VuEoXttDOjRwO_NNmQrSgbyVXLuV-aCMthvvHrZQw5YWDcqGBcuLnWIkeiktQieeHjzTGd9/s3623/DSCN3458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3623" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrnw6My5dyM642WhqT7D473TyolqYy8kotzw19bbnhpO6dp-e-B6dNIoiNk0OgqiSd3Gvuum9EhTb9hZM2mt8QWJV_K9IRyKDpD5LeqcvPLkYknyDr1VuEoXttDOjRwO_NNmQrSgbyVXLuV-aCMthvvHrZQw5YWDcqGBcuLnWIkeiktQieeHjzTGd9/s320/DSCN3458.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Moonlight Duet</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDOlshKGdN0PpPkayW91tWGCxK7Vhk17A5mJiuv9Gk4jhkpJPqTGyYIlWB_BiaxFZlwHwB9q7mmSiLkBtAFdLZCwTcJ-fkex2HeWEHXDfbfRrSyz34YNdOUAGYNL7-CObrtmFDyD2XxVMDagUVJ--tQLBb-MvUqd-d8l-msXuGBLfHGOzZHjONFxIv/s3459/DSCN3460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3459" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDOlshKGdN0PpPkayW91tWGCxK7Vhk17A5mJiuv9Gk4jhkpJPqTGyYIlWB_BiaxFZlwHwB9q7mmSiLkBtAFdLZCwTcJ-fkex2HeWEHXDfbfRrSyz34YNdOUAGYNL7-CObrtmFDyD2XxVMDagUVJ--tQLBb-MvUqd-d8l-msXuGBLfHGOzZHjONFxIv/s320/DSCN3460.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Jewel of the Summer Garden</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvy5yZadqzFDVDm_VSoYehcUVtbcDZmbCjjWt3yfPW4pAKUfzGmxClNtho1WvcqgQfVDno-IprkurSDv4IpCEvVE0hdRmX5JaUCgZQl1kOLoU_QE7wuc_NtTZPK8TeFgTirxWnuz1OU71NWwBBupUPQTonlsqzffDPZ2e72Zk8uLNstdN9eBMPWbq/s4156/DSCN3462.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4156" data-original-width="3432" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvy5yZadqzFDVDm_VSoYehcUVtbcDZmbCjjWt3yfPW4pAKUfzGmxClNtho1WvcqgQfVDno-IprkurSDv4IpCEvVE0hdRmX5JaUCgZQl1kOLoU_QE7wuc_NtTZPK8TeFgTirxWnuz1OU71NWwBBupUPQTonlsqzffDPZ2e72Zk8uLNstdN9eBMPWbq/s320/DSCN3462.JPG" width="264" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Sugar Plums</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM-CzTJg4TJUUAmFQITgOSq27JSXRcVdRhQ_ha3ZEAsxgWc4ZbEdZ-sVxzs6b_9jZgoE-y70Kenas2YMN6BSk7XYSIWTsGDnKY8GjTr082II1ylQ4LLE50Quh4GIifkk6G5iXkgea9Y_0pHaMEwAPwudUlNc-fpjc0yltSEkbDo15taB4k72WQdH3z/s4471/DSCN3465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2520" data-original-width="4471" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM-CzTJg4TJUUAmFQITgOSq27JSXRcVdRhQ_ha3ZEAsxgWc4ZbEdZ-sVxzs6b_9jZgoE-y70Kenas2YMN6BSk7XYSIWTsGDnKY8GjTr082II1ylQ4LLE50Quh4GIifkk6G5iXkgea9Y_0pHaMEwAPwudUlNc-fpjc0yltSEkbDo15taB4k72WQdH3z/s320/DSCN3465.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Through the Woods</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNvx-Z1ZHG6C1BSMcLMhg4STwOzQopVi_xwut1mj5nPERUJIaStuImQqICoLrmyihK0n5S9fgzLfEJc0vAe2b1HRKABzRBKIRzlkz4x597Uax5ojEnR_sXmAWkfaNOSnYQL_Cta2d0iqjRNkGE9Fj2ubJ-buSZfGSJWBzWn8FfmGIIdK6Euaa_JwAY/s4420/DSCN3466.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4420" data-original-width="2592" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNvx-Z1ZHG6C1BSMcLMhg4STwOzQopVi_xwut1mj5nPERUJIaStuImQqICoLrmyihK0n5S9fgzLfEJc0vAe2b1HRKABzRBKIRzlkz4x597Uax5ojEnR_sXmAWkfaNOSnYQL_Cta2d0iqjRNkGE9Fj2ubJ-buSZfGSJWBzWn8FfmGIIdK6Euaa_JwAY/s320/DSCN3466.JPG" width="188" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Into the Blue</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyySIIB4YpnhmGDKhSt9EeC1r6t5crfnQgxPGFybvgRpFjOug-lCSc7nBRUVJBeMeIE_WxMpY_DBCQWmd5OQtwJAFpWwcS_mlJKbnPoh6AWlZf4iGffAPxgK5K-RnNrBzSQA4WQnJi0mA3Rez_2AoWkWQ6gQNBWfPdQwZzbvKxa2hYcVgH7skwKNYE/s4062/DSCN3468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4062" data-original-width="3185" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyySIIB4YpnhmGDKhSt9EeC1r6t5crfnQgxPGFybvgRpFjOug-lCSc7nBRUVJBeMeIE_WxMpY_DBCQWmd5OQtwJAFpWwcS_mlJKbnPoh6AWlZf4iGffAPxgK5K-RnNrBzSQA4WQnJi0mA3Rez_2AoWkWQ6gQNBWfPdQwZzbvKxa2hYcVgH7skwKNYE/s320/DSCN3468.JPG" width="251" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Clementine</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By Tom Wachunas<b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“A bird is joy incarnate.”</b> — Myrtle Reed<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“Birds are the first and the greatest performers.”</b> —
Olivier Messiaen <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“My heart swelled with uncontrollable delight.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- </b>John James<b> </b>Audubon</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">EXHIBIT: <i>The Golden Aviary – Paintings by Katrina
Polhamus / </i>at John Strauss Studios, 236 Walnut Ave NE in downtown Canton, Ohio,
<b>THROUGH JUNE 16, 2023 / </b>Gallery hours Monday-Friday 10a.m to 5p.m.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://john-strauss-furniture.myshopify.com/collections/katrina-polhamus">https://john-strauss-furniture.myshopify.com/collections/katrina-polhamus</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here are some
excerpts from the artist’s statement (included in the above hyperlink):<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“ As a former
landscape designer turned stay-at-home mother and artist</i> [in Hudson, Ohio],
<i>I endeavor to communicate my love for the natural world and home life in my
art… Each painting combines realistically-painted birds, a golden structure,
and a stylized or patterned background. These elements work together
harmoniously to give the painting its own unique mood and/or narrative…The use
of metallic gold creates the environment for the birds, and its reflective qualities
set it apart from the rest of the painting. The backgrounds are inspired by
home decor patterns, sometimes modern, sometimes nostalgic, giving the birds an
in-home context…I try to project a feeling of optimism and happiness in my work
which are central to who I am as a person and artist." <o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>These truly stunning acrylic paintings by
Katrina Polhamus are endowed with a rich suggestibility beyond simply “giving
the birds an in-home context.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes,
there are certainly aspects of personal domesticity in those bright, patterned
backgrounds that might be local landscapes and gardens, or wallpaper, or curtains,
carpeting, even clothing. Yet the “in-home context” also feels like it has
acquired a deeper vintage dimensionality and symbolism, compelling me to ask:
Is Polhamus constructing shrines, making ornithology a spiritual experience? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her birds are
indeed superbly rendered with ample scientific precision, capturing all the
intricacies, both crisp and soft, of their feathery forms. Her color dynamics
are rapturous and not unlike the shimmering luminosity of stained-glass window
narratives you could encounter in a church.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And those gold ‘structures’! They’re much more
than stylized perches or cages. Call it a geometric religiosity. Framing and
focusing our attentions, these gilded linearities often harken to the calligraphic
configurations seen in the illuminated manuscripts made during the Middle Ages.
Just as those marvelous artworks inspired fervent meditations on the divine, so
too Polhamus’s birds. They send our reverent hearts soaring. <o:p></o:p></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-14155103504213416772023-05-31T08:47:00.000-07:002023-05-31T08:47:15.045-07:00Come What May - PART 80<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Come What May
-<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Part 80 </b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ3SkagdEoc7xJ0fp_JnAmk5J9G1ypODmLJfLwz3ZSHtps2wyPUlbwrmlbDUQ-sQlAanI-ZGZ6CgMhXJJkt9vWsnP6cfT265DTW8Z2yNHzC_G56i6keC8_rXwCy_4pPIlRyxXXfnDkrMft8sJ3G9IlHqDWivr5hCR68k3qjxrM6hJsD2NcGPfKGO3s/s4583/DSCN3423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4583" data-original-width="2771" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ3SkagdEoc7xJ0fp_JnAmk5J9G1ypODmLJfLwz3ZSHtps2wyPUlbwrmlbDUQ-sQlAanI-ZGZ6CgMhXJJkt9vWsnP6cfT265DTW8Z2yNHzC_G56i6keC8_rXwCy_4pPIlRyxXXfnDkrMft8sJ3G9IlHqDWivr5hCR68k3qjxrM6hJsD2NcGPfKGO3s/s320/DSCN3423.JPG" width="193" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>PUN, </i>by Tom Wachunas</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Njmk6Px-wGaXN_2pB4ioPUW4Dns9RX7c3la4rDUz8gAHuqppyMoI9F0eiu4kymdqNNXnaO_WBVWZT_bsGzh10IyJJ2mjsohMmlS_NGveo0KJvrffhr-iBVHRBA9UkWbTJZ7yyYQ4bMCtcc1nf9fkJ_NQAd6vp33h44X2LSnagYecntPDzRJVNtoK/s3540/DSCN3418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3540" data-original-width="3432" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Njmk6Px-wGaXN_2pB4ioPUW4Dns9RX7c3la4rDUz8gAHuqppyMoI9F0eiu4kymdqNNXnaO_WBVWZT_bsGzh10IyJJ2mjsohMmlS_NGveo0KJvrffhr-iBVHRBA9UkWbTJZ7yyYQ4bMCtcc1nf9fkJ_NQAd6vp33h44X2LSnagYecntPDzRJVNtoK/s320/DSCN3418.JPG" width="310" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Last Cowboy, </i>by Todd Bergert</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPC6q00V-SdW-SFLqOmpBXlu2tcCuPIDV7zXjWCMJth4YboOgT-RNKUIfwRro5wZ-vwanI4kiaAbsf4OH_at61LFH2YOFsNOiqBQHva0Rj9tjGEG3HKzpW1PYOgaaElWoqo0tIMI_5OzfudWVYJIOwFkGpJpAQg_Gz1w7ZwgWWYMMzFhHKni9ugBNF/s4608/DSCN3436.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPC6q00V-SdW-SFLqOmpBXlu2tcCuPIDV7zXjWCMJth4YboOgT-RNKUIfwRro5wZ-vwanI4kiaAbsf4OH_at61LFH2YOFsNOiqBQHva0Rj9tjGEG3HKzpW1PYOgaaElWoqo0tIMI_5OzfudWVYJIOwFkGpJpAQg_Gz1w7ZwgWWYMMzFhHKni9ugBNF/s320/DSCN3436.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Fall, </i>by Murli Narayan</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn1mxWvn06Uk7PPeuYqYtoOPbbjBOSHVo2gIuRwNdSMTuz05wa4M8gARbAowoLAwuR1wBBVlIlBJyYP5biCp_VMOZ_1QJtf89OnYsJaxx7y6v0JVmVdc7izlEEt5dCYbqWNj9R1nVidf78ATE32SdBksgDfr47MAc1HI475W3bzWfzhv4nFxqXP2gg/s4608/DSCN3415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn1mxWvn06Uk7PPeuYqYtoOPbbjBOSHVo2gIuRwNdSMTuz05wa4M8gARbAowoLAwuR1wBBVlIlBJyYP5biCp_VMOZ_1QJtf89OnYsJaxx7y6v0JVmVdc7izlEEt5dCYbqWNj9R1nVidf78ATE32SdBksgDfr47MAc1HI475W3bzWfzhv4nFxqXP2gg/s320/DSCN3415.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Catholic, </i>by William Bogdan</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpH4ZwOZlYncAnkhHp-1BtIQFTB1M0TIp12KkgmzpdpzO8RkxEu6AdcV-XpxPc-G8SY7iRiQ4us9r7W6dfOtWAK2rP8CIkxK6YePcHy_LQBGisHn6xBcvSPzLqKXentAnbMY0yP7DPlt8whXm7CQ_bJaHyppH_ZXvR7S38b7AGj1uZOWOmk0kU6PPj/s3488/DSCN3425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3488" data-original-width="2837" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpH4ZwOZlYncAnkhHp-1BtIQFTB1M0TIp12KkgmzpdpzO8RkxEu6AdcV-XpxPc-G8SY7iRiQ4us9r7W6dfOtWAK2rP8CIkxK6YePcHy_LQBGisHn6xBcvSPzLqKXentAnbMY0yP7DPlt8whXm7CQ_bJaHyppH_ZXvR7S38b7AGj1uZOWOmk0kU6PPj/s320/DSCN3425.JPG" width="260" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Articulated Agave II, </i>By Diane Belfiglio</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlGaJVfLl6yDlC1By6E41GHhrgOS2iHOibr6hbD4u7qFY_OarC2ZzlOhP1ClG1JQ94u1wh9FJmVDBCO7imgJyWb-CqfpASv-eWLQzYbJcTE2WoG-BrVcXx-XTUvTFGlifWuArTJmNVLD3_qKKE607FwgtAuT39zEN5JQ2h7rI-VFCLni_2vqk4hkLg/s4572/DSCN3435.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4572" data-original-width="3345" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlGaJVfLl6yDlC1By6E41GHhrgOS2iHOibr6hbD4u7qFY_OarC2ZzlOhP1ClG1JQ94u1wh9FJmVDBCO7imgJyWb-CqfpASv-eWLQzYbJcTE2WoG-BrVcXx-XTUvTFGlifWuArTJmNVLD3_qKKE607FwgtAuT39zEN5JQ2h7rI-VFCLni_2vqk4hkLg/s320/DSCN3435.JPG" width="234" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Venice Street, </i>by Bruce Humbert</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh63TkaueYZfOoHFaf4wp454tQZKmXUUmOpMCQfkgXENQrHCTp9E6Bt0k6E4qLcblZhMYC5M4wml2JjGVA2f7GndGUfFD5HPiW9RbRXNPuydcOn-TDEo1bskMZLrYVJ3cAP_mjeFzyvg44CtV6SKkqFK9cnJaCGz7GBf-hCbif7_y08Yi59yQpb-Nx6/s4549/DSCN3432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4549" data-original-width="3243" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh63TkaueYZfOoHFaf4wp454tQZKmXUUmOpMCQfkgXENQrHCTp9E6Bt0k6E4qLcblZhMYC5M4wml2JjGVA2f7GndGUfFD5HPiW9RbRXNPuydcOn-TDEo1bskMZLrYVJ3cAP_mjeFzyvg44CtV6SKkqFK9cnJaCGz7GBf-hCbif7_y08Yi59yQpb-Nx6/s320/DSCN3432.JPG" width="228" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Chrome Lady, </i>by Thomas Kilpatrick</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3v0wLzeyadFb4iN3UHgNoeKUeSci4scIet5Enu7XIvTa74C_mxVqcCeiR1SHAD7ICq5l6C5iBKelk0EqIbKbt5RMxtzOZlAyeYG3qrNutTWffNjb2yv4kY6bc1s1E_8Zkqq6OfKx7IdiJFFbq3cBQwSUIaH1tybF3p25dT1AW8yv2-DBh1_4ubtk3/s3038/DSCN3420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3038" data-original-width="3038" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3v0wLzeyadFb4iN3UHgNoeKUeSci4scIet5Enu7XIvTa74C_mxVqcCeiR1SHAD7ICq5l6C5iBKelk0EqIbKbt5RMxtzOZlAyeYG3qrNutTWffNjb2yv4kY6bc1s1E_8Zkqq6OfKx7IdiJFFbq3cBQwSUIaH1tybF3p25dT1AW8yv2-DBh1_4ubtk3/s320/DSCN3420.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Data Entry, </i>by Daniel Vaughn</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By Tom Wachunas </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">EXHIBIT: <b>80th ANNUAL MAY SHOW</b>/ at The LITTLE ART
GALLERY, located in The North Canton Public Library, 185 North Main Street,
North Canton, Ohio/ Viewing hours: Mon.-Thurs. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Fri. 10 a.m.
to 6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. /<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b>THROUGH
JUNE 24, 2023<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jury-awarded works (Best-in-Show, Second Place, Third Place)
pictured here (open the hyperlink):<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://ncantonlibrary.com/may-show-2022/">http://ncantonlibrary.com/may-show-2022/</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This hallowed
ritual usually features a remarkably abundant diversity of media and content. While
handsomely mounted to be sure, this year’s exhibit of 31 works somehow feels…small.
However well-crafted, maybe it’s the preponderance of entries tending toward
the formulaic or nostalgic, often <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>settled
into the cute and conventional.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The photos I
include here are of those pieces that I found especially captivating.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Throughout many iterations
of this annual event, Diane Belfiglio has been a deserving and frequent presence.
Her recent sudden passing means she won’t be blessing us any more with her
unique and sublime captures of sunlight and shadow, making her beautiful
watercolor, <i>Articulated Agave II, </i>an altogether bittersweet encounter.<i>
</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For you
connoisseurs of classic Flemish-technique oil painting, the masterful
draughtsmanship, the startling realism of fine textures, and the chromatic
richness in the paintings by Tod Bergert <i>(The Last Cowboy) </i>and Murli
Narayan are truly exquisite. Narayan’s painting, <i>The Fall,</i> is a particularly
playful application of thinking outside the box. Those autumnal gourds appear
to be <i>fall</i>ing out of the illusory picture frame. An arresting illusion
within an illusion. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And speaking more
of ‘playful,’ there’s Daniel Vaughn’s <i>Data Entry. </i>You might read this
dazzling arrangement of Lego tiles as a newfangled sort of QR code.
Translation: scintillating rhythmic complexity.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>William
Bogdan’s <i>The Catholic </i>is a large and engrossing woodcut print. It exudes
a soaring yet fragile Gothic monumentality. A priest, appearing dwarfed by the
enormity of his surrounds, stands in the center aisle, facing <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the steps leading up to the altar. All the church
pews behind him are empty but for one silhouetted figure, sitting alone, encased
in what looks like a white body halo. There’s a haunting here. A question, maybe
even an irony. Under the towering, vaulted ceiling of architectural heaven, what
carries more weight, more actual sanctity? The standing priest with an audience
of one? All that elaborate, mute ornamentality of the surrounding statues and icons?
Or is it the solitary seated figure emanating white light? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whenever my own
work appears in a juried group exhibit that I’m posting about here in my blog
(as is the case with this exhibit, which includes my newest work, titled<i> Pun</i>),
I’ve always acknowledged the jurors’ acceptance with gratitude and left it at
that, with no further comments on my own work.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time’s a bit different. So yes, I’m certainly
grateful. AND, here’s some shameless self-promotion. My piece belongs here. It’s
the ONLY <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘cutting-edge’ art (wink wink,
nudge nudge) in the entire exhibit. You might call it a political commentary.
With tongue-in-cheese, however, <i>I</i> think of it simply as a still life
about the fomented state of our broken culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><i>E Pluribus Unum, </i>shredded<i>. </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-34986613488090555102023-05-18T13:05:00.000-07:002023-05-18T13:05:41.651-07:00Installation Femmetastiques - PART 3<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Installation
Femmetastiques - Part 3 </b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNhtH7S1pcH5BqbEBIN5MeXoynuxKnQwNWBLkvt-Qzgxx4mTepNaRcrqkE-brNYiDOD0bjOjnXfHdqPE5UifSVFwo4vWTKVSNY0DBjResb3whbZQT_VF-580qiLEIke1TO-1szRKyfqcWU-JT9dsXMg0qsRbiBVajSv6UriV2SgkUCYEtQbk7NzWkk/s4539/DSCN3406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4539" data-original-width="2489" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNhtH7S1pcH5BqbEBIN5MeXoynuxKnQwNWBLkvt-Qzgxx4mTepNaRcrqkE-brNYiDOD0bjOjnXfHdqPE5UifSVFwo4vWTKVSNY0DBjResb3whbZQT_VF-580qiLEIke1TO-1szRKyfqcWU-JT9dsXMg0qsRbiBVajSv6UriV2SgkUCYEtQbk7NzWkk/s320/DSCN3406.JPG" width="175" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Violence Against Women</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFg7XV0oChAQ2Fgi7s4cehUpLL0XiN-c9XLInoPdkZiv9NfmjyENxnnuUXS37-O_VQUgygtIZsOimVQ3UVWeksCYjFbEdziwr6zL8lIDfWqQ_MBQhpP-0Hh3MI6RzeqKRynmJu951YC67Rekm06GHOk_fNr5ChXbPdugRNi2RsKy35SsMlOiXaglZO/s4608/DSCN3410.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFg7XV0oChAQ2Fgi7s4cehUpLL0XiN-c9XLInoPdkZiv9NfmjyENxnnuUXS37-O_VQUgygtIZsOimVQ3UVWeksCYjFbEdziwr6zL8lIDfWqQ_MBQhpP-0Hh3MI6RzeqKRynmJu951YC67Rekm06GHOk_fNr5ChXbPdugRNi2RsKy35SsMlOiXaglZO/s320/DSCN3410.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Violence Against Women</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyeXs6pw3s2wLTtya6iXgPgze2-9qi7YknKt0F7wplXZzG74mX17vH5WbKvBeKmWJd_TIGpw4MitGwpP9AO-zBnwLjQXXlIwQqU7lOl3CITr2JTuG4sklg1RAkWOx76foSwCbzPHppGAPO0nt9iV73y4LsOSGuChWNcbDXuPQ2M-ytA7qpNIaZf8WP/s4608/DSCN3405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyeXs6pw3s2wLTtya6iXgPgze2-9qi7YknKt0F7wplXZzG74mX17vH5WbKvBeKmWJd_TIGpw4MitGwpP9AO-zBnwLjQXXlIwQqU7lOl3CITr2JTuG4sklg1RAkWOx76foSwCbzPHppGAPO0nt9iV73y4LsOSGuChWNcbDXuPQ2M-ytA7qpNIaZf8WP/s320/DSCN3405.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We Wrap Ourselves Around You: Angels For Ukraine</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52SWEd3EgjsMmEwMxEJCDULAoFrM3MWRNJmpFL8End22PtenM6SoBpZaY6Itq8_48kde_jO3J8mog1bBRTKMM7Mwe6WtHOLX0uWcGhdyM3Vseq8GhhWORI-xFtbf_4Jr_4vEvMg3tvMC88UtqpbCxI9Ak5ehuGe62t4yDOF6wJIs-L5D6t88eCAQC/s4608/DSCN3409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52SWEd3EgjsMmEwMxEJCDULAoFrM3MWRNJmpFL8End22PtenM6SoBpZaY6Itq8_48kde_jO3J8mog1bBRTKMM7Mwe6WtHOLX0uWcGhdyM3Vseq8GhhWORI-xFtbf_4Jr_4vEvMg3tvMC88UtqpbCxI9Ak5ehuGe62t4yDOF6wJIs-L5D6t88eCAQC/s320/DSCN3409.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dance With Dementia</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By Tom Wachunas <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses
only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street. Fashion has to do with ideas, the
way we live, what is happening.</b>” —Coco Chanel <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“I think what's important is to give space to the range
of human experience.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>- Judy Chicago<b><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“As an artist, I never wanted to be fettered by gender
nor recognized or defined as a female poet, musician or singer. They don't do
that with men - nobody says Picasso, the male artist. Curators call me up and
say, "We want your work to be in a show about women artists," and I'm
like, why? For Christ's sake, do we have to attach a gender onto everything?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- </b>Patti Smith</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">EXHIBIT: <i>Salon des Femmes -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>celebrating the work of 12 local female
artists</i> / Cyrus Custom Framing & Art Gallery, 2645 Cleveland Ave NW,
Canton, OH / Through June 14, 2023 / Viewing hours Monday -Friday 10 a.m. to 6
p.m., Saturday 11 a.m to 3 p.m. (closed on first Saturday of month)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">EXHIBITING ARTISTS: Heather Bullach, Heidi Fawver, Kat
Francis, Marti Jones Dixon, Erika Katherine, Judi Krew, Aimee Lambes, Sam
Lilenfield, Sally Lytle, Erin Mulligan, Emily Orsich, Jo Westfall</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For much of art
history, the techniques and materials of functional domestic crafts (weaving,
sewing, quilting, embroidery and the like) associated with women, a.k.a.
“women’s work,” was thought to be intellectually empty and unworthy to be called
“high art.” Such work was typically dismissed as mere ornament or decoration. Fortunately,
such institutionalized small-mindedness has been in steady decline for decades,
thanks in large part to the potency of transformational ideas central to the feminist
movements of the 1960s and 1970s.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And ‘potent’ is
certainly an appropriate descriptor for the three marvelous pieces here by Judi
Krew. They’re from her ongoing <i>Hoard Couture </i>wearable art series. Here’s
a relevant she said–he said about that series, excerpted from my blog comments
about her 2021 solo show at Massillon Museum. First, she said, <i>“…I embrace
the mantra of reuse, repurpose, reconsider, and reimagine to guide the overall
concept of each piece… The original intent of Hoard Couture, to reduce an
accumulation of things, has evolved over time into a series that sometimes
looks back at our past and perhaps also forward to our future…” </i>Then, he
(I) said, <i>“… we can rightly regard Judi Krew’s works as not just fashion
design, but also as remarkable mixed-media sculptures…</i> <i>In all of their
astonishing intricacy of constructed details, these exquisitely crafted
assemblages are more than merely decorative. They’re declarative…”<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The spiritual power of <i>We Wrap Ourselves Around You:
Angels For Ukraine </i>is indeed a purposeful declaration and, I dare say, a prayer.
Wearing this brilliant and sparkling tribute to the people of Ukraine would be to
don the wings of hope and healing. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On a distinctly more
somber note, there’s the interactive <i>Violence Against Women – </i>at once
sobering and disturbing. More than simply “feminist” in concept and scope, it’s
compellingly humanist. Read Krew’s statement: <i>“Upon this piece are 22
individual pockets depicting 30 forms of violence against women both historical
and contemporary. The text is hand stitched and incorporates a small visual
reference. The body of the pockets are intended to be “beautiful” individual
works of art using craft materials… Within each pocket are laminated stories
from victims who suffered these acts of violence. Please reach in and read
their stories so they can reach out to you… Do not allow women to remain hidden
anymore.”<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In her statement
that accompanies <i>Dance With Dementia, </i>Krew writes that she designed the
work as a “<i>modified dance costume</i>…<i> comprised of: the artist’s 1984
wedding rehearsal dress; overskirt made from a bedsheet that was wrapped around
her mother’s bridal gown (to preserve it) circa 1958; and the front panel of a
real dance costume…” </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The garment is
covered with 45 miniature dresses that echo the Hoard Couture series as a whole.
Krew tells us that the small pieces are<i> “…made as memories and more able to
be stored once the artist passes away and the full scale series is eventually
disposed of. When fully assembled, this dancer’s dress serves as a
retrospective of the artist’s years making Hoard Couture and a lifetime of
playing with art materials.”<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>So there is, belying the fulsome visual brightness
of the piece, a pensive this-too-shall-pass sadness about it. Here, Krew shows
herself to be a gifted poet, evidenced by the panel attached on the front of
the garment, bearing the arresting <i>Dance With Dementia </i>poem she wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>A little girl grows up to make art / She wears it well,
they say / Dancing under gallery lights /<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Accolades / Decades / Pieces of herself left behind,
until /<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>An unfinished canvas, an empty hook / a missed deadline /
Unsigned /<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Did anyone notice? / Were there signs? / Decline /<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>The stage grows dark / The theater lies empty / Studio
spaces forgotten<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>A.R.T. entombed in bins / Abandoned / Unavailable /<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>A nice lady gives her some crayons</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Judi Krew, thank
you. I keep noticing the sublimity of your work, the fabric of your heart. And
I suspect that any dancing you might be doing with crayons in the future would
be no less enthralling.<o:p></o:p></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-52628061407367468432023-05-12T05:46:00.000-07:002023-05-12T05:46:21.545-07:00Installation Femmetastiques - PART 2<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Installation
Femmetastiques</b> <b>- Part 2 </b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL-tbXMivrLrIapzUR3g5dB1OGh2uWtcAKDTYwT6DyKBrkO6Wn0YJHG2no80nnddgNRi8KBRt7u-ZsuG6jsF_auhBaVv6yEtAVzaP1v88vXiXgvxPgn1no7JMkGQWi9a2EBiE4bbPe4cLZDRsx2LQanTjhPur-hFhOsRwTo9TcNwcWw75ZrzDRo2_T/s2102/DSCN3401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1640" data-original-width="2102" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL-tbXMivrLrIapzUR3g5dB1OGh2uWtcAKDTYwT6DyKBrkO6Wn0YJHG2no80nnddgNRi8KBRt7u-ZsuG6jsF_auhBaVv6yEtAVzaP1v88vXiXgvxPgn1no7JMkGQWi9a2EBiE4bbPe4cLZDRsx2LQanTjhPur-hFhOsRwTo9TcNwcWw75ZrzDRo2_T/s320/DSCN3401.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Still Life with 2 People, </i>by Marti Jones Dixon</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiiotIyWBOzYOda3z7TxoWyaXNpj7O-40noXN64DKSNschpu_Qq5el4JoJirOz_-mCrFbYDkN9cDSfPU2mlMUYpXsV_h0pxIoyUSYCtyvByXZoOCgeHzYa-7AN26sAa64_AF7xU4RXF-DmMH2kWlM_g8d8RbiT0B58PVc8XoW3LjVJClPfi2L0oXN2/s2048/Erin%20Mulligan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1532" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiiotIyWBOzYOda3z7TxoWyaXNpj7O-40noXN64DKSNschpu_Qq5el4JoJirOz_-mCrFbYDkN9cDSfPU2mlMUYpXsV_h0pxIoyUSYCtyvByXZoOCgeHzYa-7AN26sAa64_AF7xU4RXF-DmMH2kWlM_g8d8RbiT0B58PVc8XoW3LjVJClPfi2L0oXN2/s320/Erin%20Mulligan.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Compassion, </i>by Erin Mulligan</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZy8icCXvBwKV4zP--y6Va3pt4laAZhbDSWYABHW7AI1NY-BvEZ_5VgCQ2mebcOAIP60_eN91WH9Dvscswiz3zzh6s_Cl8Oqja3LA0I37wKeh5lip48Mdnsg9AIvU29y9-J38_1sMDmgQrnSvk18gpZRUpcxVLHitHRkYX4yqdUCMrg3phMKqEXrVj/s1440/bullach%20ponies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="1440" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZy8icCXvBwKV4zP--y6Va3pt4laAZhbDSWYABHW7AI1NY-BvEZ_5VgCQ2mebcOAIP60_eN91WH9Dvscswiz3zzh6s_Cl8Oqja3LA0I37wKeh5lip48Mdnsg9AIvU29y9-J38_1sMDmgQrnSvk18gpZRUpcxVLHitHRkYX4yqdUCMrg3phMKqEXrVj/s320/bullach%20ponies.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Beach Ponies, b</i>y Heather Bullach</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyfFvP46R1U9P9oDkPoV5H81Tgh6qi9FVCXlpgYxSe5K20voqT4RqcoAIMkCJajggi0BC-RNIBqJYjD-Czdgy2bdafhtQfFkM5Ymfs9XfVeXjFIwqZNyKENY9WfRj2RLg5KvQDp_KheaeriHaW9YviOV16Hz-zURyEP0wvxSEg9y1nZrE_MwGS5ely/s4608/DSCN3392.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyfFvP46R1U9P9oDkPoV5H81Tgh6qi9FVCXlpgYxSe5K20voqT4RqcoAIMkCJajggi0BC-RNIBqJYjD-Czdgy2bdafhtQfFkM5Ymfs9XfVeXjFIwqZNyKENY9WfRj2RLg5KvQDp_KheaeriHaW9YviOV16Hz-zURyEP0wvxSEg9y1nZrE_MwGS5ely/s320/DSCN3392.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photos by Aimee Lambes</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqF3W9vLx6Pn9VX1w5j3C90IpOyjqmfweN4soRZXtHmg-XTqgvxJ0yHdkap0W7Yh_ys17gQAQ4gv-InqrfdZHp2zQXH5TT57Y5VMymbd54U9X2jYGuk8k8Xisg_9HO_4hfexfnffJmR0CRvSxAwuWEnrpT7U02_gFnpwT3mXmpzLPU3qULE-WtrVc6/s4608/DSCN3393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqF3W9vLx6Pn9VX1w5j3C90IpOyjqmfweN4soRZXtHmg-XTqgvxJ0yHdkap0W7Yh_ys17gQAQ4gv-InqrfdZHp2zQXH5TT57Y5VMymbd54U9X2jYGuk8k8Xisg_9HO_4hfexfnffJmR0CRvSxAwuWEnrpT7U02_gFnpwT3mXmpzLPU3qULE-WtrVc6/s320/DSCN3393.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erika Katherine art</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR0tNlKvxEk1F8Xbg0XeS0Zyo6mK9w13QmQdbJPpcUfpfgSmLUlhSI4NmvKZZSM1uepznTLhvYDdpd8Fm_nL447KmNOiLjpxnr_L7Nwv8pxsGt2RKHFJcUSp-ad71GMX0pey6PqxjrYIsOSjbZx0MGQUPGgbc9JDL7hZG2jl-9s2gPXpHi-BDXPPSv/s1808/DSCN3377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1808" data-original-width="1195" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR0tNlKvxEk1F8Xbg0XeS0Zyo6mK9w13QmQdbJPpcUfpfgSmLUlhSI4NmvKZZSM1uepznTLhvYDdpd8Fm_nL447KmNOiLjpxnr_L7Nwv8pxsGt2RKHFJcUSp-ad71GMX0pey6PqxjrYIsOSjbZx0MGQUPGgbc9JDL7hZG2jl-9s2gPXpHi-BDXPPSv/s320/DSCN3377.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Under Siege, </i>by Sally Lytle</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By Tom Wachunas</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a
quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is
only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it
will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>- Martha Graham <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“The only quality that endures in art is a personal
vision of the world. Methods are transient: personality is enduring.” - </b>Edward<b>
</b>Hopper<span style="text-align: center;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">EXHIBIT: Salon des Femmes -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>celebrating the work of 12 local female artists / Cyrus Custom Framing
& Art Gallery, 2645 Cleveland Ave NW, Canton, OH / <b>Through June 14, 2023</b>
/ Viewing hours Monday -Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m to 3 p.m.
(closed on first Saturday of month)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">EXHIBITING ARTISTS: Heather Bullach, Heidi Fawver, Kat
Francis, Marti Jones Dixon, Erika Katherine, Judi Krew, Aimee Lambes, Sam
Lilenfield, Sally Lytle, Erin Mulligan, Emily Orsich, Jo Westfall<span style="text-align: center;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I quoted Martha
Graham at the top of this post because even though her powerful words were
originally offered in the context of modern dance, I believe that the spirit of
her observations is nonetheless applicable to <i>any </i>act of aesthetic
expression. The styles, materials and messages offered in this exhibit are widely
varied. Still, each artist offers a distinctive translation of that “…vitality,
a life force, an energy, a quickening…” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>which
inspires her to manifest a unique personal vision of being alive in the world.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Speaking of relevant
quotes, when you look at the gorgeous photographs here by well-travelled Aimee
Lambes, let these words from photographer Annie Leibovitz resonate: <i>“There's
an idea that it's hard to be a woman artist. People assume that women have
fewer opportunities, less power. But it's not any harder to be a woman artist
than to be a male artist. We all take what we are given and use the parts of
ourselves that feed the work. We make our way… Photography lets you find
yourself. It is a passport to people and places and to possibilities.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>‘Nuf said.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Heather Bullach’s 19 paintings here are
breathtaking in their classic style of elegant and poetic naturalism. The
pristine serenity and precision of her confident brushwork gives her visions a
patina of luminous silk. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With her
astonishing exactitude of technique (I often think her brushes might be made
from feathers, or even cat hairs), Erin Mulligan paints delightfully dramatic
encounters of the metaverse kind. She rules a magical Morphdom snatched from
the jaws of our ordinary world. The intriguing pictorial tales she tells
straddle the whimsical, the weird, and the always wondrous. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The captivating
figurative paintings by Mart Jones Dixon are imbued with expressive, gestural immediacy.
They often convey a sense of the artist capturing a crescendo moment before her
memory of it changes or vanishes. A social encounter, an intimate conversation on
the threshold of impending action, or of telling a secret, asking a question, revealing
an answer. This expressivity is greatly enhanced by Dixon’s deft articulation
of light, drawing us in to look – or listen -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>longer. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll be sharing
more of my take on this adventurous show in Part 3, sometime next week. Meanwhile,
once again, Félicitez les femmes!<o:p></o:p></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-52899666838120051522023-05-08T11:47:00.000-07:002023-05-08T11:47:15.526-07:00Installation Femmetastiques (part 1)<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Installation
Femmetastiques (Part 1) </b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2y73bNhb8MKwYFsDkQ4H5c_vHNmx3JS4lbuggZmZmMibDnCCcuUrC_7hJ7ccLWE-F0KdRL7NOUW2y_5S_W4wsybYMndr8tJ7eIfDZMObpgWcDyXph710LhP0yZrYNRXp-hA_JOUM2f9eTWs87QMmqBoJeY2PnGqhbKJec7Ku-ktQSw9pKkZpc5RHh/s4608/DSCN3395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2y73bNhb8MKwYFsDkQ4H5c_vHNmx3JS4lbuggZmZmMibDnCCcuUrC_7hJ7ccLWE-F0KdRL7NOUW2y_5S_W4wsybYMndr8tJ7eIfDZMObpgWcDyXph710LhP0yZrYNRXp-hA_JOUM2f9eTWs87QMmqBoJeY2PnGqhbKJec7Ku-ktQSw9pKkZpc5RHh/s320/DSCN3395.JPG" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL8HRU-IWMsudiX9GOmYcS9eI_pJvjDuS32-g8S1aRicdaqO-kEc5n5irz2ggBJdRB8cswo5XPm0cf0IweJ_dppvo0DCHbwLHesoR_8ADDSDdEbe_PpI_ddMnyz9pSNUVNbbPEfU6T14GK0lU8IZYeOBniQ9aHrh1OhWDRsUlEqphjhmF58kiu4Hwq/s4608/DSCN3377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL8HRU-IWMsudiX9GOmYcS9eI_pJvjDuS32-g8S1aRicdaqO-kEc5n5irz2ggBJdRB8cswo5XPm0cf0IweJ_dppvo0DCHbwLHesoR_8ADDSDdEbe_PpI_ddMnyz9pSNUVNbbPEfU6T14GK0lU8IZYeOBniQ9aHrh1OhWDRsUlEqphjhmF58kiu4Hwq/s320/DSCN3377.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSjov3S91LAJvXs1Rn61V2QKqJnkBJ7KgCk2WdrxZFZ841jWuH3L7H0MTx4cTM8kCFRwWFRFeB1Ms92yApFCK5rycKFFigdjPVs_biNZiPiyOjAEOYMA0tZzbnGaJEy5IDjggiC9lV5-lpbI5RDkQ04UXjOf79xJIq8onfYUsjhJwFM_c3X7ZiDLj/s4608/DSCN3378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSjov3S91LAJvXs1Rn61V2QKqJnkBJ7KgCk2WdrxZFZ841jWuH3L7H0MTx4cTM8kCFRwWFRFeB1Ms92yApFCK5rycKFFigdjPVs_biNZiPiyOjAEOYMA0tZzbnGaJEy5IDjggiC9lV5-lpbI5RDkQ04UXjOf79xJIq8onfYUsjhJwFM_c3X7ZiDLj/s320/DSCN3378.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfMSrZCXMLR2H1yMx9pH7zSds5b6GCAAYxoytZJHGON5aQ1fz5eOHz2NNGCQvRO0ZCCPSBEGH7xgIchmJGPvWm7KgNzHukJr1hnW44r_mLY-dAIR72ycYCAe2EclYP_ihQbNl7cdMxaQlXZ7jy6g7ilyRK8A4cV5jAKQavSjtiIaWCQJF-rECOwrXc/s320/DSCN3380.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><o:p></o:p></b><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By Tom Wachunas <o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The alchemy
of good curating amounts to this: Sometimes, placing one work of art near
another makes one plus one equal three. Two artworks arranged alchemically
leave each intact, transform both, and create a third thing.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- </i></b>Jerry Saltz<span style="text-align: center;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">EXHIBIT: <i>Salon des Femmes -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>celebrating the work of 12 local female
artists /</i> Cyrus Custom Framing & Art Gallery, 2645 Cleveland Ave NW,
Canton, OH / <b>Through June 14, 2023 / </b>Viewing hours Monday -Friday 10
a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m to 3 p.m. (closed on first Saturday of month)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">EXHIBITING ARTISTS: Heather Bullach, Heidi Fawver, Kat
Francis, Marti Jones Dixon, Erika Katherine, Judi Krew, Aimee Lambes, Sam
Lilenfield, Sally Lytle, Erin Mulligan, Emily Orsich, Jo Westfall</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gobsmacked.
Smartstruck. Dazed and bemused. Wooed and wowed by this amazing amalgam of
artworks, my blog’s agog.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For this exhibit,
Cyrus Custom Framing and Art Gallery has undergone a most extraordinary
transformation - a floor-to-ceiling facelift.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s a vigorous
THANKYOU to keen-eyed arts champion Dan Kane, the retired entertainment editor of
The Canton Repository, for conceiving and curating this marvelous show, and to
his collaborator- in-design, Christian Harwell, owner of Cyrus Art Gallery.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For his excellent
April 13 Canton Repository article on the exhibit, Ed Balint talked with both
men. Kane said on that occasion, <i>"…My guiding idea was to hang the
artwork salon style, with many pieces of work by each artist. Rather than a
group art show, it's more like a dozen solo shows. The artists represent a wide
range of styles and a 40-year age range…” </i>Additionally, Harwell<i> </i>observed
that<i> “… each artist plays with their own space, showing the design and
emotion that perfectly complements their artwork and message. Every one of
these women are established and innovative local artists that have a message to
deliver. We felt now is a timely opportunity to celebrate the important
contribution that women make to contemporary art in general, but more directly
to our local art scene."<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Important
contributions to be sure. More than a few of the artists here have captivated
me for years (including Marti Jones Dixon, Erin Mulligan, Judi Krew, Heather
Bullach, Aimee Lambes and, in the last several months, Erika Katherine, Kat
Francis, Jo Westfall, and Emily Orsich), all prompting ARTWACH commentaries. So
it’s all the more gratifying to see again the astonishing aesthetic depth these
remarkable creators bring to this context. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The exhibit is a
compelling homage, a robust and immersive soiree, a veritable sensory cornucopia
of iconographic diversity. I will be posting Part 2 of my thoughts hopefully in
a few more days. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile, you can open
the following hyperlink and listen to the <i>What’s Up Stark? </i>Podcast from
April 25. It’s a thoroughly engaging conversation with artists Marti Jones
Dixon and Erin Mulligan, hosted by Dan Kane:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whats-up-stark/id1536305948">https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whats-up-stark/id1536305948</a> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Félicitez les
femmes!<o:p></o:p></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-11679066258500815772023-04-19T16:26:00.000-07:002023-04-19T16:26:05.613-07:00Faux what it's worth, just for the pun of it<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Faux what it’s
worth, just for the pun of it…</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-tdyAcDZovxrxrJL_oNo6FZHT0hHGRHWG_IUZg15y_uqh0PhiF73cvmvZLKxjhBWBiAsMZpvqsfrngsvJLG9HaWzcZ3RZLu-BV2y00nfNkmTPAmsyFC6KZKP_afxTi7jPWrkYYriC9XrERpiS1r-a_tv2Ing0Lt2fO8fCEmF97vIVh7NF0Njd285T/s4585/Tom%20Wachunas%20-%20PUN.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4585" data-original-width="3305" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-tdyAcDZovxrxrJL_oNo6FZHT0hHGRHWG_IUZg15y_uqh0PhiF73cvmvZLKxjhBWBiAsMZpvqsfrngsvJLG9HaWzcZ3RZLu-BV2y00nfNkmTPAmsyFC6KZKP_afxTi7jPWrkYYriC9XrERpiS1r-a_tv2Ing0Lt2fO8fCEmF97vIVh7NF0Njd285T/s320/Tom%20Wachunas%20-%20PUN.JPG" width="231" /></a></b></div><b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0QE7Hxie1-ChT978YFwuh9vQGrj97SXE27Zn9-dmRgmMNXplKoiIPLYMfTdcOoWFgW-96vmkfCqna9MC-dIqluCcL2mX5W8LqdqQeWE53ShPQ653lCGYrVohnYtsO8lS8Cxl5Op0WRv4oe8DqX4DwSvrbdSX-xYCE3dx_nWwCY9dUMt2o-OxHWrQ/s4608/Tom%20Wachunas%20-%20Rock%20Music%20detail%20(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="2900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0QE7Hxie1-ChT978YFwuh9vQGrj97SXE27Zn9-dmRgmMNXplKoiIPLYMfTdcOoWFgW-96vmkfCqna9MC-dIqluCcL2mX5W8LqdqQeWE53ShPQ653lCGYrVohnYtsO8lS8Cxl5Op0WRv4oe8DqX4DwSvrbdSX-xYCE3dx_nWwCY9dUMt2o-OxHWrQ/s320/Tom%20Wachunas%20-%20Rock%20Music%20detail%20(3).JPG" width="201" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRwOh0RqA029gmeJztqr8C6wcb-CeH6VqXdaHw7phKvV7vIWbWeypbE9ETLS0mFZG1WqmSNy0mTbQlMqMSDxyZ6KGBU8tQNM4lwGPdmkh2Mjl13M2OqAMqxZDYVy5iMD1FiJKIFiMIAEp3iKJuXY9SsdpMYHZMenucZShWq6sSv2sOMtdb1u78LBQl/s4608/Tom%20Wachunas%20-%20Rock%20Music%20detail%20(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRwOh0RqA029gmeJztqr8C6wcb-CeH6VqXdaHw7phKvV7vIWbWeypbE9ETLS0mFZG1WqmSNy0mTbQlMqMSDxyZ6KGBU8tQNM4lwGPdmkh2Mjl13M2OqAMqxZDYVy5iMD1FiJKIFiMIAEp3iKJuXY9SsdpMYHZMenucZShWq6sSv2sOMtdb1u78LBQl/s320/Tom%20Wachunas%20-%20Rock%20Music%20detail%20(2).JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5rRQkyw7aJX8xoZZHOnKQ5nJHMXnFZV1-aS1NLXUPq7Y9FaHd1cx3f69tjoBiqVt4syOJrIpfRL-Ls-LoXjo594tgD_8ddy3DwXaSUFOpn0PffsKF-PZVTZtYSitRe8c1wYnIAGLEQQHjoz-QCvoEqTHMk3-hgfpaig3VhtJOf9cbqBa6KLzKMhSF/s4533/Tom%20Wachunas%20-%20Rock%20Music.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4533" data-original-width="2625" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5rRQkyw7aJX8xoZZHOnKQ5nJHMXnFZV1-aS1NLXUPq7Y9FaHd1cx3f69tjoBiqVt4syOJrIpfRL-Ls-LoXjo594tgD_8ddy3DwXaSUFOpn0PffsKF-PZVTZtYSitRe8c1wYnIAGLEQQHjoz-QCvoEqTHMk3-hgfpaig3VhtJOf9cbqBa6KLzKMhSF/s320/Tom%20Wachunas%20-%20Rock%20Music.JPG" width="185" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisbrkI6nkPTCSAZRbxbsdlRbYzOJ_Z5kyg38LP0NsOXedPH4A7HrApFM_vnrN7WTw2ioBtrtNRWPOVzAZYz3UY_EpKKPqXIqpCguCrsK9siV3EDJWMIUJ6RvBsZ0ZKjsT8YaDHywwKRbyCtrMWZKE6ywgYQZRAoIxP7GmrP_eVdxhxSMvci8z6j5wv/s4608/Tom%20Wachunas%20-%20Rock%20Music%20detail.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="2639" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisbrkI6nkPTCSAZRbxbsdlRbYzOJ_Z5kyg38LP0NsOXedPH4A7HrApFM_vnrN7WTw2ioBtrtNRWPOVzAZYz3UY_EpKKPqXIqpCguCrsK9siV3EDJWMIUJ6RvBsZ0ZKjsT8YaDHywwKRbyCtrMWZKE6ywgYQZRAoIxP7GmrP_eVdxhxSMvci8z6j5wv/s320/Tom%20Wachunas%20-%20Rock%20Music%20detail.JPG" width="183" /></a></div><br /><o:p></o:p></b><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By Tom Wachunas </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Found
objects, chance creations, ready-mades (mass-produced items promoted into art
objects) abolish the separation between art and life. The commonplace is
miraculous if rightly seen.” <o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> - </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Charles Simic</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From
recent playtime in my studio and my head, in a spirit of fun I offer two new
releases: <i>Rock Music, </i>and <i>PUN</i>. Rescued. Repurposed. Repsychled. So
to speak. As it were. If you will. In other words, i.e., a.k.a. ipso facto quid
pro quo. And while we’re at it, let’s not forget ergo, non sequitur. Veni,
vidi, vici.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The guitar? Drawing a bead on wordplay. Fretting the small stuff, sentimental
music taken for granite, marbleized and marvelized, pinning down rhythm ‘n
clues at a fast clip, pulling on my heartstrings, wired and weird.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And <i>PUN?
</i>Just something I herd somewhere.<o:p></o:p></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-22587416121583526722023-04-04T14:11:00.000-07:002023-04-04T14:11:41.118-07:00Semiotic Scissorscoptics<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Semiotic
Scissorscoptics </b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvma1E97cNHXZXb0oXqA7mMFl3sr_iFqgff3XZje9YAitgYkHMCYLQz9xeRgL7DA5CPnrvplDTZvQck4Ofwx4K3RBkEJkdDJ9MVEh8pUk1e72qcKSRYzxt_Hw70ykockKydpbPsJ9oe6vsaGfBS4VZAYutPJp3Dh4YAqkB_aQIrVSDwjZBDe_3y6Dk/s4608/DSCN3337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvma1E97cNHXZXb0oXqA7mMFl3sr_iFqgff3XZje9YAitgYkHMCYLQz9xeRgL7DA5CPnrvplDTZvQck4Ofwx4K3RBkEJkdDJ9MVEh8pUk1e72qcKSRYzxt_Hw70ykockKydpbPsJ9oe6vsaGfBS4VZAYutPJp3Dh4YAqkB_aQIrVSDwjZBDe_3y6Dk/s320/DSCN3337.JPG" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ocH3latuz-FxlEXHHLGe3gaqPbN__i-GR-frwK7zekQBPlWs_c6_P0XLmUDVSZPc3SF6EFr3TKWy7UuFZ0V_o8JrulEnUbUr9vUtXwBHF0okVbHLFTbTS9EX_uNmzhIqAoVkxqMEhCjh4V_wq4XMLAa4atcZkX0VY8LAX9jWJbJrSpq7FmSTJyuM/s4231/DSCN3328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4231" data-original-width="3404" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ocH3latuz-FxlEXHHLGe3gaqPbN__i-GR-frwK7zekQBPlWs_c6_P0XLmUDVSZPc3SF6EFr3TKWy7UuFZ0V_o8JrulEnUbUr9vUtXwBHF0okVbHLFTbTS9EX_uNmzhIqAoVkxqMEhCjh4V_wq4XMLAa4atcZkX0VY8LAX9jWJbJrSpq7FmSTJyuM/s320/DSCN3328.JPG" width="257" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How To Join</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzDY8B9XUbH50d956_BHq1RnCX6uS5dT59ovKj9F7acM0EKqRuVOoUSw1BXqndW4BZlsaG1DnEaBiLCcuncB18rxkiw4TffWqIy3R7eSCm3wH5vc0DS0UhhDZBXiAOEzVBG7FRAQOADhb-3R3hRSd07fIxigSMzb3rhGie81g23bpFBsfCNmU5qawI/s3851/DSCN3331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3851" data-original-width="2953" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzDY8B9XUbH50d956_BHq1RnCX6uS5dT59ovKj9F7acM0EKqRuVOoUSw1BXqndW4BZlsaG1DnEaBiLCcuncB18rxkiw4TffWqIy3R7eSCm3wH5vc0DS0UhhDZBXiAOEzVBG7FRAQOADhb-3R3hRSd07fIxigSMzb3rhGie81g23bpFBsfCNmU5qawI/s320/DSCN3331.JPG" width="245" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crumb Cake</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlJZcYzueFz-HzhWXzda6C0iP6es_Bo-S3gnp2ADgYwpyNAfXw_1-MnrrnV2wVTsxKl4znEBS4bEfh0eZe6P2AOPCtws9-5zdTopbAobDYv4r2U0l_7A3zbjB89hJqoEZGJL3LjQGUckr0ULz2xz7xx5ITRJBMgyBWowqjYoO6crG5bLiBzoz5I7Jd/s4608/DSCN3336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlJZcYzueFz-HzhWXzda6C0iP6es_Bo-S3gnp2ADgYwpyNAfXw_1-MnrrnV2wVTsxKl4znEBS4bEfh0eZe6P2AOPCtws9-5zdTopbAobDYv4r2U0l_7A3zbjB89hJqoEZGJL3LjQGUckr0ULz2xz7xx5ITRJBMgyBWowqjYoO6crG5bLiBzoz5I7Jd/s320/DSCN3336.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Television</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Da-Ry-mZbyRUNqIThZbdrsQuqLl8wveD77-GGt3TDZ32VAHbnycuE9iFaOnlmobd-S10ww56phf6Tujl-Jee9preGU_fwgLeyjMggzZbQ2GtSWaEW42oBH_fx9JkUnFEh7hVnc-wXMekgH3tBTM6V-uzjtJ0O2sOix8pRy6i7V69LMa1L5joFPku/s1087/DSCN3330.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="1087" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Da-Ry-mZbyRUNqIThZbdrsQuqLl8wveD77-GGt3TDZ32VAHbnycuE9iFaOnlmobd-S10ww56phf6Tujl-Jee9preGU_fwgLeyjMggzZbQ2GtSWaEW42oBH_fx9JkUnFEh7hVnc-wXMekgH3tBTM6V-uzjtJ0O2sOix8pRy6i7V69LMa1L5joFPku/s320/DSCN3330.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American Dream</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1WB8DgDwB8zymkGcp7D-uJGig92Y7ILI7FwZomzibay2zU_XuhgeyiWGqZm5iN3_8okUISjnxF1Km6Uk_GJqxmJ5Nfpcf6jTF58jhbpNwKfiQHvj_D7PJk7nobQxEViQEvZS5aKKQwOgpEGYaM2TCOagiXjKQB8oT3bBQGiYMF8s1df-IOUR_4vHK/s4608/DSCN3325.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1WB8DgDwB8zymkGcp7D-uJGig92Y7ILI7FwZomzibay2zU_XuhgeyiWGqZm5iN3_8okUISjnxF1Km6Uk_GJqxmJ5Nfpcf6jTF58jhbpNwKfiQHvj_D7PJk7nobQxEViQEvZS5aKKQwOgpEGYaM2TCOagiXjKQB8oT3bBQGiYMF8s1df-IOUR_4vHK/s320/DSCN3325.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Experience</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Gpj0qmTBr9F9zGtfs2G23yVHBvaQLo7209O0fVrLVvOzttlWMRmY6IZ2tredSxTMPxlwysblKS3WL3BcDp6zsagr51GBBieGueNx9CN-Ga22eFfGnftU6wO2MES1dJIp6dirVryovAZA8HInGdO6JyTuzbF3XRqObQA7MtyEz3DiKS4vRz4Pw_1G/s4608/DSCN3323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Gpj0qmTBr9F9zGtfs2G23yVHBvaQLo7209O0fVrLVvOzttlWMRmY6IZ2tredSxTMPxlwysblKS3WL3BcDp6zsagr51GBBieGueNx9CN-Ga22eFfGnftU6wO2MES1dJIp6dirVryovAZA8HInGdO6JyTuzbF3XRqObQA7MtyEz3DiKS4vRz4Pw_1G/s320/DSCN3323.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Screaming Woman</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><o:p></o:p></b><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By Tom Wachunas</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“All in all, the creative act is not performed by the
artist alone...the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world
by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus adds his contribution
to the creative act.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>― Marcel
Duchamp <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“Psychologically, our thought - apart from its expression
in words - is only a shapeless and indistinct mass.” - </b>Ferdinand de
Saussure<span class="MsoHyperlink"><b><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Semiotics </i></b>(from Merriam-Webster)<b>:</b>
a general philosophical theory of signs and symbols that deals especially with
their function in both artificially constructed and natural languages and
comprises syntactics, semantics, and pragmatics. <b><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Exhibit: <i>OVERDOSE – art by Matthew Rose / </i></b>at
John Strauss Studios, 236 Walnut Ave. NE, downtown Canton, Ohio / <b>THROUGH APRIL
14, 2023</b> / (330) 456-0300 / Hours: Monday - Friday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM / <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://john-strauss-furniture.myshopify.com/">https://john-strauss-furniture.myshopify.com/</a>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An American artist,
writer and musician living and working in Paris, France, Matthew Rose has long
exhibited his collage works, paintings and drawings throughout Europe and the
US. He regularly contributes features and reviews to<b> ArtBlog</b>, at <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.theartblog.org/author/matthewrose/">https://www.theartblog.org/author/matthewrose/</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Looking
for meaning and purpose in the mayhem of being alive on this beleaguered planet
during challenging times, have we overdosed on Plethora? Are we comfortably
numbed merchandizers and consumers, or hapless victims, of the worldly toomuchness
of our own making? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are approximately
1,000 artworks in this exhibit – a dizzying abundance of mixed media somethings
about the conditions of our existential conditions. Signs, signals, insignias,
memes, messages. Many of these artaffects by Matthew Rose are collages /montages
on canvas or painted boards. Threaded throughout is an aesthetic spirit
inflected with conceptual and psychological elements of Surrealism, Pop, and
Dada.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dada was a
reactionary art movement born out of the trauma and hysteria of World War I. Many
artists at that time rejected the nobler academic standards and practices that
had governed making and viewing art for generations. Dada could be angry,
cynical, ambiguous and funny all at once. It was an attitude often served up
with a hardy helping of wicked sarcasm. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rose is something
of a prolific hunter-gatherer. His weapon? Scissors. His prey? All manner of
found printed stuff, both modern and vintage, mostly in the form of ads, illustrations,
comics, diagrams, photos and texts snipped from newspapers, magazines, books. Extracting
these items from their original settings, Rose arranges them on his surfaces
like puzzle pieces. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some works are
simple and “quiet,” joining a few images of a representational nature to a
word, or phrase, floating on or embedded in a somewhat empty, minimalist-abstract
ground. Others are far busier affairs – dense agglomerations of wildly diverse
subjects that Rose sprinkles across the picture plane as if writing run-on
sentences in a free-flowing stream of consciousness. Or conscience? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s where we as viewers intuitively seek
some sort of narrative nestled in the art. We look to connect. Consequently we rummage
and ruminate. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We become co-creators,
co-conspirators, code-breakers, hunting for meaning. There’s no shortage of
targets. Whether cryptic, cautionary or celebratory, here’s where every picture
can tell a story and every story can spell a picture. Or a thousand of them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who are those twin women pictured at the
bottom of “The Experience?” What will <i>really </i>relieve their back pain?
And who’s the screaming woman in “Screaming Woman?” Maybe she’s Mother Earth.
Is she screaming her dismay, or her delight, at the multitude of her children’s
excesses, hilarious or horrific? Maybe she’s really laughing after all. Either
way, Mama’s making a lot of noise these days, and Dada never sleeps at night.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Enjoy the hunt.<o:p></o:p></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-23625551531084097452023-03-27T14:00:00.003-07:002023-03-27T14:00:53.379-07:00Always the Light<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Always the Light </b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrIBQKaIJg8yL4x9Z2XhoEFNi7seqmIRFG6HQlrUgcFGojBufmM-NX61mliVpf-NTjrmrmeubEsO12H9IfcklpEkxpzFKKkh9geGnbuKCsnOJQXn6HLj0X5_3RVl0I4FBj9QnpSOYvCPqmv8xtuIcj-kamjcp9gwPwlzgW0tHzyXMEaeG1GMbGK7r/s960/Diane%20two.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="960" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrIBQKaIJg8yL4x9Z2XhoEFNi7seqmIRFG6HQlrUgcFGojBufmM-NX61mliVpf-NTjrmrmeubEsO12H9IfcklpEkxpzFKKkh9geGnbuKCsnOJQXn6HLj0X5_3RVl0I4FBj9QnpSOYvCPqmv8xtuIcj-kamjcp9gwPwlzgW0tHzyXMEaeG1GMbGK7r/s320/Diane%20two.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><br /><o:p></o:p></b><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By Tom Wachunas, with
Diane Belfiglio<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“…But the transcendentalism by which all men live has
primarily much the position of the sun in the sky. We are conscious of it as a
kind of splendid confusion; it is something both shining and shapeless, at once
a blaze and a blur…” </b>– G.K. Chesterton<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, the blur.
Since learning of the sudden passing of Diane Belfiglio a few days ago, I know
I do not grieve alone in a state of numbing sorrow, incapable of finding words
to describe the enormity of her departing our midst.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then, the shape
of her shining cuts through the billowing clouds of sadness. I remember. Thank
Dear God I remember. Her impact as superb artist, beloved friend, teacher most
excellent, colleague most encouraging. An altogether inspired and inspiring creative
force in our community. Here are some of Diane’s words about her work: <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>"I was
educated in a professional art world that has been characterized by its shock
value, biting social commentary, and 'in-your-face' commercial images. In
contrast to that world in which I was raised, I am simply endeavoring to create
in my art a respite for our weary souls…. No matter the subject or medium, my
work is firmly grounded in the formalist ideas that have interested me since my
beginnings as a professional artist: closely cropped images bathed in the
interplay of pattern between sunlight and shadows. Although realistic in
presentation, I rely heavily on the underlying abstract qualities of my forms.
Shadows, ethereal by nature, take on a rigid structural aspect in my compositions.
Colors range from brilliant to subtle in an effort to reproduce the strong
sense of sunlight streaming through each piece. My goal is to transform the
mundane into the extraordinary, so that we see beauty in images that generally
go unnoticed by most of us on a daily basis.”<o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something extraordinary
indeed. I have been writing about Diane’s work for about 25 years. So now let
me offer you, dear readers, this memorial composite of past comments from
numerous reviews. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll always see
Belfiglio’s oeuvre as something akin to one hand firmly caressing earthbound
materiality, the other channeling through it the warmth and movement of light. The
ethos of her work is a see-worthy vessel that remains buoyant and sturdy in
turbulent waters – intact and unabashedly beautiful in our splintered culture
too often floundering in pointless pop junk and ugly sensationalism. Hers are
contemplative, mindful visions for our thoughtless times. As such, they are
acts of bravery, courage and love on canvas or paper. Woven into the arresting
formal elegance of her pictures is a consistently tender, mesmerizing harmony
of astonishing technical acuity and compositional lyricism that imbues them
with the rarefied air of poetry. Call it all a constant rising to ineluctable
light.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Always, the light. Rest there, dear friend Diane. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And finally, here
are two links. The first, to Diane’s gorgeous website so you can visit and be
reminded of her brilliant work. The second to Zanesville Museum of Art’s
beautiful posting on Diane’s current exhibit there.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.belfiglio.com/">https://www.belfiglio.com/</a>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.zanesvilleart.org/exhibition-diane-belfiglio">https://www.zanesvilleart.org/exhibition-diane-belfiglio</a>
<o:p></o:p></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-43221263381075697332023-03-01T09:17:00.000-08:002023-03-01T09:17:16.657-08:00Whirldscapes and Hortimorphs<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Whirldscapes and
Hortimorphs </b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeiPuf5JsQkwzWDwJB-KxQdhpc79B6-9w2SLC5vE0Zdf8vxqJRzZdA8_xlO64fKLvM5t5_9e-IKFgvBKw3lARSAQQ3F_dIScuKLzotsk_Q59y-7vqPzKtU-ETRDw2Ak1PpB2x2hqV2KiEnOKwe72tPN3OgS8Ens1izFMbHG7_TqHMVGDshpYW4cJog/s4608/DSCN3301.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeiPuf5JsQkwzWDwJB-KxQdhpc79B6-9w2SLC5vE0Zdf8vxqJRzZdA8_xlO64fKLvM5t5_9e-IKFgvBKw3lARSAQQ3F_dIScuKLzotsk_Q59y-7vqPzKtU-ETRDw2Ak1PpB2x2hqV2KiEnOKwe72tPN3OgS8Ens1izFMbHG7_TqHMVGDshpYW4cJog/s320/DSCN3301.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Evening Bloom on view at Geez Mound, </i>by Ehret and Francis</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggEteiTfGxdbmT8kAnLtGAwlv2LFt9g5So2bmci_XKOzgjzAL2rVL-ulZ2y2kwOeiqUR4FRVHe36zfegSWiscr0m-3rjN_62I7Kg66Ta_cO9Ov0C9PE7u0UQeDxCX2ScnTL6N9em40mGIHJ1Q2cC14zBv9nwR_YK05hizob3pmq8SVoQdp3B9X6cYl/s4177/DSCN3303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4177" data-original-width="3076" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggEteiTfGxdbmT8kAnLtGAwlv2LFt9g5So2bmci_XKOzgjzAL2rVL-ulZ2y2kwOeiqUR4FRVHe36zfegSWiscr0m-3rjN_62I7Kg66Ta_cO9Ov0C9PE7u0UQeDxCX2ScnTL6N9em40mGIHJ1Q2cC14zBv9nwR_YK05hizob3pmq8SVoQdp3B9X6cYl/s320/DSCN3303.JPG" width="236" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Conjuring a Spirit Guide from the Hardware Store Parking Lot, </i>by Ehret and Francis</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAEukB1pn6S0852Xpmc6Q_ggQJClI6uv_LyWW9aF6DzG_QHPUq7vhZH4x7h6mktxRmgUElO0pt_krBE6ZMR_jZn6iC73GOcBbVBQSOIjDD47pW007VTVyTeNDUInuumqhnsUZKqHcJoF9ISfb58rvZmiqrdTlnMEthCLPoGWXrGhw8wi8FywNM0bsA/s4608/DSCN3309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAEukB1pn6S0852Xpmc6Q_ggQJClI6uv_LyWW9aF6DzG_QHPUq7vhZH4x7h6mktxRmgUElO0pt_krBE6ZMR_jZn6iC73GOcBbVBQSOIjDD47pW007VTVyTeNDUInuumqhnsUZKqHcJoF9ISfb58rvZmiqrdTlnMEthCLPoGWXrGhw8wi8FywNM0bsA/s320/DSCN3309.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sun Shower, </i>by Steve Ehret</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirlP_wJi1TVSAwuBVSRx6arHe-P_jvgKZqioqU43zyDSAWvQ8hkm3dfoxVDXk3Kum_M2q8XQAiP_OWxzHdMdtAbv0VnCuQ-mg5POKFAbklEDVA1SuJRxV92nn0IflOU3r0oYduKV2oj9umKMseBDOvZCOSb-gGgcrSHvVD3HbwIWU4sU1uS3SXXCAH/s4608/DSCN3300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirlP_wJi1TVSAwuBVSRx6arHe-P_jvgKZqioqU43zyDSAWvQ8hkm3dfoxVDXk3Kum_M2q8XQAiP_OWxzHdMdtAbv0VnCuQ-mg5POKFAbklEDVA1SuJRxV92nn0IflOU3r0oYduKV2oj9umKMseBDOvZCOSb-gGgcrSHvVD3HbwIWU4sU1uS3SXXCAH/s320/DSCN3300.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ate the Sun, </i>by Steve Ehret</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwIi0yWZatusO0XKNoSqQjZ99JpDxXzwwT3R1htGDg3KRoPUPHUWiNTGgTFftSd18QCeO97xXVvLDkrTfYCmjDFe2q7MLRF2mW5o6J-uS21cJBBCJ733DxWs_yAfjrX2YaEvhhRCoVAWmygootf0W2fOCVekN2ZguRB2J5vQFdvo_SqPZuuU2l_1sR/s4324/DSCN3310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4324" data-original-width="3351" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwIi0yWZatusO0XKNoSqQjZ99JpDxXzwwT3R1htGDg3KRoPUPHUWiNTGgTFftSd18QCeO97xXVvLDkrTfYCmjDFe2q7MLRF2mW5o6J-uS21cJBBCJ733DxWs_yAfjrX2YaEvhhRCoVAWmygootf0W2fOCVekN2ZguRB2J5vQFdvo_SqPZuuU2l_1sR/s320/DSCN3310.JPG" width="248" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Alter, </i>by Steve Ehret</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJJPQwYAxVHgL59kgGr6X9wH-dQEbPodI1rrwZqM6umojmzq-zIsk_0NxbEQtQ9rOnF6pB9jRTxdaqWgyAKk83oeJW558TxfMerZHFmK__od5Crfib1XihhgBWuo9IrDbJJY8Z6YtUi2wddODURuh_mPB5LC5T8kjpNYCXVvD31BIMrxmy2UXv2lMs/s4608/DSCN3306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJJPQwYAxVHgL59kgGr6X9wH-dQEbPodI1rrwZqM6umojmzq-zIsk_0NxbEQtQ9rOnF6pB9jRTxdaqWgyAKk83oeJW558TxfMerZHFmK__od5Crfib1XihhgBWuo9IrDbJJY8Z6YtUi2wddODURuh_mPB5LC5T8kjpNYCXVvD31BIMrxmy2UXv2lMs/s320/DSCN3306.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Haze Glaze, </i>by Kat Francis</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcmFJ7uYgp19JQdpDuj7DywT59ABpvjtMmQWjy2ip_ZPexZheCGPu4cTR3qmNu_0J7u07dIwm9np4v9ccrxyD16yoOX6ogjlCtXrfREG54K3qTJDnK_F6Pb4A5n4A2vdkSYCOp2Fdb5DlvAgvyuG_GWTGRGoew_p5LKQTIrPQnorEAMmXobYq3FTpw/s4608/DSCN3305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcmFJ7uYgp19JQdpDuj7DywT59ABpvjtMmQWjy2ip_ZPexZheCGPu4cTR3qmNu_0J7u07dIwm9np4v9ccrxyD16yoOX6ogjlCtXrfREG54K3qTJDnK_F6Pb4A5n4A2vdkSYCOp2Fdb5DlvAgvyuG_GWTGRGoew_p5LKQTIrPQnorEAMmXobYq3FTpw/s320/DSCN3305.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Meet Me for Records in the Club House, </i>by Kat Francis</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJnbaIeo6oEauuNHR0wKvbqblQcrlnBq45_w_q7MM9s6GKFogjJYlKEmNglpSP6-9jd-CriFForn7PUfTSWNCutGBwaiNgTQpnG3JVW4EPRHZ8UVgvJLFjOB3kgSME00HcfXxH0uukOLc-mG0OGXBpggDUGkCdO-lILCLOd7traDVw1z91Yr1vyO0V/s4584/DSCN3304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4584" data-original-width="2878" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJnbaIeo6oEauuNHR0wKvbqblQcrlnBq45_w_q7MM9s6GKFogjJYlKEmNglpSP6-9jd-CriFForn7PUfTSWNCutGBwaiNgTQpnG3JVW4EPRHZ8UVgvJLFjOB3kgSME00HcfXxH0uukOLc-mG0OGXBpggDUGkCdO-lILCLOd7traDVw1z91Yr1vyO0V/s320/DSCN3304.JPG" width="201" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mr. Soul, </i>by Kat Francis</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By Tom Wachunas<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“<b><i>We hope to bring you into the play place of our
imagination, to live out the earthly magic of the subconscious mind. A place
for people to float, have fun and most importantly get weird. Climb hills, roll
down them, smell flowers, star gaze, pounce from earthy plateau to
plateau.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></b>- Steve Ehret and Kat
Francis<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">EXHIBIT: <i>POTION PARK – The Kaleidoscopic Garden of Steve
Ehret and Kat Francis / </i>at Canton Museum of Art’s Milligan Gallery / 1001
Market Avenue N., Canton, Ohio / <b>last day of the exhibit is March 5<sup>th</sup>
/ </b>330.453.7666 / <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Canton Museum of Art is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and
Thursdays from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., and
Sundays 1-5 p.m. <b>Admission is free on Thursdays and the first Friday of
every month.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.cantonart.org/exhibits/current"><i>https://www.cantonart.org/exhibits/current</i></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And again, here
comes that notoriously tardy blogger with a way-late vigorous nod in the
direction of two prominent local artists- Steve Ehret and Kat Francis. If
you’ve not yet seen their intriguing collaborative exhibit, there are still a
few days remaining.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So…”Kaleidoscopic” Garden, or “Collide -oh! – Scopic”
Garden? Here’s where the notion of potions comes into play. Depending on the
recipe, some potions may taste sweet, others bitter. They can be remedial
elixirs or toxic tinctures. The fantazzmagorical visions in this exhibit
combine elements of both, though never in a spirit of malevolence. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mixed media assemblages
(acrylic paint on cut-out wood shapes) by Kat Francis are layered, 3D collages that
have a scrapbook souvenir quality about then. Her painting style is charming
and direct, sometimes almost childlike. A recurring motif is an embedded face
in profile (her own?) which appears to ingest, or spew out, floating snippets
of natural scenery. The eye is peering out beyond the picture plane as if
meditating, searching, or remembering. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Steve Ehret’s strange oil landscapes are
painted with a sumptuous <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>fluidity that makes
his forms appear to breathe and bounce. Here’s nature morphed into a wondrous
waltz of curly puddles, pods and petals; rippling rocks rising and falling;
wriggling stones, wiggling stems; and all in rainbow colors that glow from the
inside with light stolen from an unseen sun. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Strangeness comes
into even sharper focus when both artists partner together in one painting,
such as in <i>Evening Bloom on View at Geez Mound, </i>or <i>Conjuring a Spirit
Guide from the Hardware Store Parking Lot.</i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Looking at them is like tumbling into the
proverbial rabbit hole of altered realities. They’re dreamy and disorienting,
yet not downright nightmarish. Surreal, certainly, but not so much sinister as
they are sly. Like a fox. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Begging your
pardon, Kat Francis and Steve Ehret never promised us a rose garden. Still, stop
and smell the weird. Eye think you’re sure to find the aroma simply…curiouser
and curiouser.<o:p></o:p></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-91060600324086084572023-02-20T17:46:00.000-08:002023-02-20T17:46:10.492-08:00Into the Blue<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Into the Blue </b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLUfkburn5RgFqR9FFghAY0JNW0vKDGiPNLjwIsrPVVgd42TaHWpc8kpIxmHZsp2aybB3nLiwPvbKvMFk0RG7iohTq9ZZdKOzH_e2HrT4kvh3WJDf4fwSpc2GW-cn3-6xcbcuYAoNrJnyqI1P1drYBte_px6mf4-vLruTD8vjnpXKFBlTBYifqci5o/s4608/DSCN3290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLUfkburn5RgFqR9FFghAY0JNW0vKDGiPNLjwIsrPVVgd42TaHWpc8kpIxmHZsp2aybB3nLiwPvbKvMFk0RG7iohTq9ZZdKOzH_e2HrT4kvh3WJDf4fwSpc2GW-cn3-6xcbcuYAoNrJnyqI1P1drYBte_px6mf4-vLruTD8vjnpXKFBlTBYifqci5o/s320/DSCN3290.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Gloaming #1 - 9</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKUEn6-QC_Vffs-HiR-Ap7PSNtlXh05GBCz1tJ0YVXqb6Nf8B1ESueDl7Xz5G9C9mjTN7-8u93S9kZgIv2YZCya7fzJwFekBgdsTpHvcZLOor97x7-GZJsNAgFztAL01gpuyoGKUnYcSuHvOgI-Pk7B-q4ze1poDVuD0ZSMadye3kLuubpjqQkA7V/s582/Jordi%20waiting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="527" data-original-width="582" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKUEn6-QC_Vffs-HiR-Ap7PSNtlXh05GBCz1tJ0YVXqb6Nf8B1ESueDl7Xz5G9C9mjTN7-8u93S9kZgIv2YZCya7fzJwFekBgdsTpHvcZLOor97x7-GZJsNAgFztAL01gpuyoGKUnYcSuHvOgI-Pk7B-q4ze1poDVuD0ZSMadye3kLuubpjqQkA7V/s320/Jordi%20waiting.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Waiting</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ41gesKYW24QcPwYDFgWEPbcOxkRjKoZ2EfeSAX36Mu7UZ7aJV6uxlC0kbNT4VyLdQbCE6BPqBI5DwwGCo72OOxtiRBjh2DYW98WVKdQL1H_py4PWQ6NNPZqPfyMoe4_cnwABC7dV5RQH9xdDfL28p8tXIe-FqfpEr_9cuXT6yC3iRyK4rygSEN0H/s3472/DSCN3292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3426" data-original-width="3472" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ41gesKYW24QcPwYDFgWEPbcOxkRjKoZ2EfeSAX36Mu7UZ7aJV6uxlC0kbNT4VyLdQbCE6BPqBI5DwwGCo72OOxtiRBjh2DYW98WVKdQL1H_py4PWQ6NNPZqPfyMoe4_cnwABC7dV5RQH9xdDfL28p8tXIe-FqfpEr_9cuXT6yC3iRyK4rygSEN0H/s320/DSCN3292.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Finding</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrw8Oa2dyNgYCjXiLZ2cEkq0NyJS6sNKANAOFcjtfLPwlF17uC-y9UPjNOIacKWD5gVz8c5LY0HpyOCC1VQaXomOSW4-czKeuf3fvJFJLscxMhLKIxHAqRvbn2OPJSDOomCaJjtzPseiWbBKtpWERq0MXbZZM9JsjkGgjEz6My1q1CPK2NJANJK-xK/s4608/DSCN3293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrw8Oa2dyNgYCjXiLZ2cEkq0NyJS6sNKANAOFcjtfLPwlF17uC-y9UPjNOIacKWD5gVz8c5LY0HpyOCC1VQaXomOSW4-czKeuf3fvJFJLscxMhLKIxHAqRvbn2OPJSDOomCaJjtzPseiWbBKtpWERq0MXbZZM9JsjkGgjEz6My1q1CPK2NJANJK-xK/s320/DSCN3293.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Blue </i>(detail)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHPBJ_cu0ZcarmWKmY-xdWLhP89J8jHGH1c8HkP9dua73L4bz0rorXJAndeVb4_S0pXdRooH9g8Bx7cq4Nng1F5_1GidvfGir1asGn9mmwt7MZw-hROh-m4zFlpKk8wjxDVZ8ScIqMOrvkEVihzkE_EKbc5kNd74aSk0plsS_kEUY0tlRFPi-qtq9/s4608/DSCN3291.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHPBJ_cu0ZcarmWKmY-xdWLhP89J8jHGH1c8HkP9dua73L4bz0rorXJAndeVb4_S0pXdRooH9g8Bx7cq4Nng1F5_1GidvfGir1asGn9mmwt7MZw-hROh-m4zFlpKk8wjxDVZ8ScIqMOrvkEVihzkE_EKbc5kNd74aSk0plsS_kEUY0tlRFPi-qtq9/s320/DSCN3291.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Blue</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNUpbC1Na13oK0bHB8KIBbELv_sq1LqCn_H-SLPSzBdiUjlCVG5l5rNqf89mQQDlsP5ByIvNKRRtQ757uWwLlDsUddtPpZn5rI1K-Dvduu0NJv_FtTSI5ltTouYd9PKbyNtLmtoDkgxrsZk_Dxt5N62jK9YeL-bsW64KOlAHeq4NHn3bqgIwvEEs2/s4608/DSCN3288.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNUpbC1Na13oK0bHB8KIBbELv_sq1LqCn_H-SLPSzBdiUjlCVG5l5rNqf89mQQDlsP5ByIvNKRRtQ757uWwLlDsUddtPpZn5rI1K-Dvduu0NJv_FtTSI5ltTouYd9PKbyNtLmtoDkgxrsZk_Dxt5N62jK9YeL-bsW64KOlAHeq4NHn3bqgIwvEEs2/s320/DSCN3288.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Gloaming 2</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGqF9-UlkxzUuFuOhrlvFLJcHZC9YpGxNuoEK3zLUL5f5-IJx4c9hhbFP3HxBSLE7xVlivmrkdOsaLQD5iVFHh27sAiqYgtsM8cFKHCFSrgdhx4NfTprDI6gkFIbIpFML1xRjivPveHjMetxX5ncNGFwfCK2ppw_xiw4uSeLcATe2OF3p9vIln5MkQ/s4608/DSCN3298.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGqF9-UlkxzUuFuOhrlvFLJcHZC9YpGxNuoEK3zLUL5f5-IJx4c9hhbFP3HxBSLE7xVlivmrkdOsaLQD5iVFHh27sAiqYgtsM8cFKHCFSrgdhx4NfTprDI6gkFIbIpFML1xRjivPveHjMetxX5ncNGFwfCK2ppw_xiw4uSeLcATe2OF3p9vIln5MkQ/w320-h240/DSCN3298.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Gloaming #1 - 9 (detail)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By Tom Wachunas </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“The substance of painting is light.”</b> – Andre Derain<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“Art to me is an anecdote of the spirit…” </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- Mark Rothko <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“Almost without exception, blue refers to the domain of
abstraction and immateriality.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>-
Wassily Kandinsky<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">EXHIBIT: Jordi Rowe presents <i>Blueing of the Light: The
Gloaming</i> / in Studio M at Massillon
Museum / THROUGH FEBRUARY 26, 2023 / 121 Lincoln Way East, downtown Massillon,
Ohio / (330)- 833-4061</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.jordirowe.com/about">https://www.jordirowe.com/about</a>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.massillonmuseum.org/">https://www.massillonmuseum.org/</a>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A MassMusings podcast
interview with the artist will be posted at <a href="http://www.massillonmuseum.org/533">www.MassillonMuseum.org/533</a> , and
on Spotify on Tuesday, February 21, 2023, at noon.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Painter Jordi Rowe
concludes the artist statement she posted for her exhibit with these thoughts: <i>“Like
abstract painters before me, I encompass the viewers in the emotion of
experience, add in the remarkableness of the commonplace, and aspire to
crystallize a particular everyday moment. I find it rejuvenating.” </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With this series of spectacular paintings, she
has indeed realized her aspirations in truly sublime fashion.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The “commonplace”
she refers to has much to do with a phase of twilight known as <i>gloaming – </i>those
moments of chromatic glowing in the sky right after sunset and just before full
nightfall. Sometimes, for a few seconds, when the sun is at a particular position
below the horizon, that glowing can become a quickened pulse bursting into an
instantaneous flash of intensified color. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rowe’s facile
confluences of oil, acrylic and spray paints produce a dramatic materiality.
The sumptuous tactility of her surfaces turns what quantum physics calls the <i>wave lengths
</i>of light into what could be called <i>wave weights </i>of vibrant hues. Her painted abstract “skies”
are effervescent vistas, breathtaking fields at once dense and diaphanous,
earthy and ethereal, comprised of particulate stuff – misty, thick, fluid,
rising and falling. Here’s a beautiful conjunction of substance and spirit, all
breathing at the nexus of the physical and the metaphysical.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Especially
compelling is her sprawling installation called <i>The Gloaming, #1- 9. </i>These<i>
</i>nine canvases are<i> </i>mounted close together in a single long row spanning
two gallery walls. You could start taking it in on the bright yellow end, and
follow the colors through those enthralling blues into the night. Or, walk from
the opposite dark end of the row to greet the sunrise. Either way, it’s about the
passage of time through fugitive moments of a day, each condensed into a finite
plane - a page, if you will - and each a complete picture in itself.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s like reading
verses of an epic, wondrous poem in paint.<i> <o:p></o:p></i></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830900456947692487.post-46805163595819348622023-02-16T05:15:00.000-08:002023-02-16T05:15:39.290-08:00A Compelling Tribute<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A Compelling Tribute </b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndyr3OAPmDivog64zHpuPnxLLOQjZl3R53kBOF4SGLyWIeKctPYON4K8A0R3oLI3djKGn2jpDxyJs7vWkf3w9js4dtQeuzkl58x1l5hLfRbP0uszET61Q5z3bqocTzbpup2LKPMLVxj3YVxDGdaiMtQlBheddylyJujR094ZGN72_vyqRvBgZDv71/s4608/DSCN3284.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndyr3OAPmDivog64zHpuPnxLLOQjZl3R53kBOF4SGLyWIeKctPYON4K8A0R3oLI3djKGn2jpDxyJs7vWkf3w9js4dtQeuzkl58x1l5hLfRbP0uszET61Q5z3bqocTzbpup2LKPMLVxj3YVxDGdaiMtQlBheddylyJujR094ZGN72_vyqRvBgZDv71/s320/DSCN3284.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Lot of Energy Makes a Little Matter, </i>by Jack McWhorter</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAZcb8kQQhBbz_pb_SF7OmdRvdESz8rsYDkGKXbf0yT82NOnXzPaY7I1FsWk30UdpEMVZRiYSOSClOVAuNvi78hvWApmgg8D7fnzc7Z-QSOW17UQ7spEOxWeO4Sb5grk4-S6kzfpUh_102cjtx0mjsHd9AXDMYtceRpv5lYci1ZU4IQZtq3mO4_U9/s3982/DSCN3286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3982" data-original-width="3108" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAZcb8kQQhBbz_pb_SF7OmdRvdESz8rsYDkGKXbf0yT82NOnXzPaY7I1FsWk30UdpEMVZRiYSOSClOVAuNvi78hvWApmgg8D7fnzc7Z-QSOW17UQ7spEOxWeO4Sb5grk4-S6kzfpUh_102cjtx0mjsHd9AXDMYtceRpv5lYci1ZU4IQZtq3mO4_U9/s320/DSCN3286.JPG" width="250" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ladders and Holes, </i>by Mal McCrea</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMl87bIczAgsRB4dch916i4JC7qZhR-t0jx2BaT65mUVLJe-CP3PzzOubuCZlcfHKGCAsEGKYMSRAwkcDeLrz-KqE0wKqCJVXAk7h668_x8O8UigNuM_9781zs2czxz1UfmEheS8VHEqQ-yWhXNFb62SRUp9EvWIR3Q3awf4EHXDSZvUB7T8XkwfDL/s4608/DSCN3283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMl87bIczAgsRB4dch916i4JC7qZhR-t0jx2BaT65mUVLJe-CP3PzzOubuCZlcfHKGCAsEGKYMSRAwkcDeLrz-KqE0wKqCJVXAk7h668_x8O8UigNuM_9781zs2czxz1UfmEheS8VHEqQ-yWhXNFb62SRUp9EvWIR3Q3awf4EHXDSZvUB7T8XkwfDL/s320/DSCN3283.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>You Paint Like a Sculptor, </i>by Alexis Huntsman</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCzbtbKTTki8n5Wz1R_OcY1ZGFJuCc-iC1Ld4ubJJIkIUB9qOu-pRKXR0qiMpORlirNUF0hBGI97KVcRpMe77SHCpLwuB2X1wGIUkZTFGXHKAA5c5ozfciIxYDCao0cqgrET1atBjE681nkjclpM7jen1LOAyldV5uZifdhSjRydKC2IE-lajHyuQG/s4608/DSCN3280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCzbtbKTTki8n5Wz1R_OcY1ZGFJuCc-iC1Ld4ubJJIkIUB9qOu-pRKXR0qiMpORlirNUF0hBGI97KVcRpMe77SHCpLwuB2X1wGIUkZTFGXHKAA5c5ozfciIxYDCao0cqgrET1atBjE681nkjclpM7jen1LOAyldV5uZifdhSjRydKC2IE-lajHyuQG/s320/DSCN3280.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Transitions, </i>by Kim Blankenship</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheLTZEzCn6g_ebxzdxgnHyAjcfDijtN9zJyAj-oVj4d1nu41kJXKD0Cs320HT1mm25n_Ra4uk4zASRr_8mTx4KCBx1hiF_wWhf_75Zw51C057NCHSMO1jf2pKHoTenLTITWjnsgh61X1Drnp7fRJ2C12xEb17dyEFJlj5Ay9WtyxkeHVWGI7ULMRAv/s3774/DSCN3278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3774" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheLTZEzCn6g_ebxzdxgnHyAjcfDijtN9zJyAj-oVj4d1nu41kJXKD0Cs320HT1mm25n_Ra4uk4zASRr_8mTx4KCBx1hiF_wWhf_75Zw51C057NCHSMO1jf2pKHoTenLTITWjnsgh61X1Drnp7fRJ2C12xEb17dyEFJlj5Ay9WtyxkeHVWGI7ULMRAv/s320/DSCN3278.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Light You Carry, </i>by Emily Orsich</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLLhkyZdRP8K__xfVSaFoLu4idfOVfrcu0kZzmbf7HkZyGDvj00lO9wosAucXS54zHb9A64L9K6YnMJ--IrGssoPRpWmI98ZvxmLSfiT0fEEE7P8j2F1Q7rR3XYvygKXUiAyAR2szJoBJ8axHQYuzhSjM_DkISOgICdBBeiix-FbSoMs8_0XupbaC/s4608/DSCN3277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLLhkyZdRP8K__xfVSaFoLu4idfOVfrcu0kZzmbf7HkZyGDvj00lO9wosAucXS54zHb9A64L9K6YnMJ--IrGssoPRpWmI98ZvxmLSfiT0fEEE7P8j2F1Q7rR3XYvygKXUiAyAR2szJoBJ8axHQYuzhSjM_DkISOgICdBBeiix-FbSoMs8_0XupbaC/s320/DSCN3277.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Promise Land, </i>by Keri Graham</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpK1ZaUKzTsXMSmd5uDwc9NbPwuiIEVoD_V-4iifaAx4W78DI517n_DZsDPFc_vWHTj9srbDjs41BLpBMJJrcDe8g3mvDELC_Ew8UZ6bo2TDfuU6mUXe5z3pMGk9zyTf_NjZbNkbYeA--4i2_2YqefnvX25DW0tTOyYVL4H64UUUY3a7-IwrvUaLPA/s4608/DSCN3275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpK1ZaUKzTsXMSmd5uDwc9NbPwuiIEVoD_V-4iifaAx4W78DI517n_DZsDPFc_vWHTj9srbDjs41BLpBMJJrcDe8g3mvDELC_Ew8UZ6bo2TDfuU6mUXe5z3pMGk9zyTf_NjZbNkbYeA--4i2_2YqefnvX25DW0tTOyYVL4H64UUUY3a7-IwrvUaLPA/s320/DSCN3275.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Because (l), Why (r), </i>by Samuel Gentile</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVyxBW9NuIiDBa2Kgmg5a2boyKjO47224OvqdijAwle5iyDRyXjH-sS5NZ8zTz-pj7gxQvnwuU33pYX5ZAh9U2OkPTQe4trjXn95T-BM_MLnte6F97iyXquaIyljhj-9mLqUHWC6oQySYRhmbG-eDbAk7dm5JZNxTGyIrX7xz5xOymnsoY_yYlndAe/s716/alaska.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="696" data-original-width="716" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVyxBW9NuIiDBa2Kgmg5a2boyKjO47224OvqdijAwle5iyDRyXjH-sS5NZ8zTz-pj7gxQvnwuU33pYX5ZAh9U2OkPTQe4trjXn95T-BM_MLnte6F97iyXquaIyljhj-9mLqUHWC6oQySYRhmbG-eDbAk7dm5JZNxTGyIrX7xz5xOymnsoY_yYlndAe/s320/alaska.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Millennium Simulation, </i>by Alaska Thompson</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By Tom Wachunas <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The act of
painting is a clash of different worlds, which in their conflict with each
other create new worlds. For me, one of the most intriguing aspects of the
studio is the quest for making paintings that have an equivalence in two or
more directions. The paintings derive from a system of metaphors drawn from
physical science. A kind of blank slate which allows me to describe what I
think I know about existing in time and space, history and nature.” </i></b> -Jack McWhorter (1950
– 2022)<span style="text-align: center;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">EXHIBIT: <i>Forward Formations: Students Celebrate the Life
of Jack McWhorter / </i>at Patina Arts Centre, 324 Cleveland Ave. NW, downtown
Canton, Ohio / THROUGH FEB. 25, 2023 / Viewing hours Thursdays Noon to 8 p.m.,
Saturdays Noon to 9 p.m. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sarah Amatangelo, Kimberly Blankenship, Jessica Bracken, Noah DiRuzza,
Samuel Gentile, Casey Herndon, Rita Hoagland, Nick Hoover, Alexis Huntsman,
Kristi Karickhoff, Azia Mae Layman, Keri Marie, Madi Miller, Daniel McLaughlin,
David McDowell, Sarah Flower-McVey, Mal McCrea, Jack McWhorter, Emily Orsich,
Justin Randall, Natalie Swonger, Brandy Torch, Alaska Thompson, Kaley Weaver,
Megan Wanderer, David Whiteman<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Students once under
the tutelage of Painter and Professor Jack McWhorter, who passed away on May 1,
2022, have come together to celebrate his life and legacy through a shared
exhibition. Jack was a prolific and accomplished artist, and a beloved,
influential teacher of painting for 32 years at Kent State University at Stark.
Each artist in this thoughtful and compelling tribute - which includes some paintings
by McWhorter - created a work of art inspired by one of his pieces.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the
core of McWhorter’s aesthetic is a persistent navigation of tensions and
harmonies within symbiotic dualities. His compositions, which he called “live
surfaces,” are clusters or matrixes of lines, shapes, and patterns that
juxtapose accumulations and singularities, gatherings and dispersals. Like an
explorer’s field notes on remembered sights and sites, places and spaces, his
pictures often entwine a then with a now, as if remembering their own
beginnings even as they were being transformed by his intuition and imagination
into wholly new visual moments.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>New</i> visual moments. The artists in this
exhibit haven’t settled for merely copying an exact style, technique or content
of a McWhorter original. After all, this exhibit is about inspiration, not
imitation. Amidst the great diversity of formal approaches here, there is
nonetheless a palpable sense of kindred spirits speaking in their own distinctive
dialects, connecting to the act of making art with passion and panache.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The very walls of
Patina Arts Centre have indeed become live surfaces.<o:p></o:p></p>Tom Wachunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996182567402249813noreply@blogger.com0