Uncategorized | Beverly Shipko, Artist

The New Year’s Challenge

January 1, 2015 by Beverly

It’s New Years Day, and today is the day I am taking action instead of giving lip service to my resolutions.

Every year I enthusiastically make of list of resolutions with the best of intentions, only to watch my commitment gradually decline over time. This year is going to be different. It’s time to live up to the spirit of my Bev’s Bites of Life blog and take a bite (at least start with a nibble…). So I signed up for the 30/30 Challenge starting today, when I will return to as I finish writing this post.

The 30/30 Challenge stands for 30 Paintings in 30 Days, which is hosted by Leslie Saeta. I intend to do a small painting a day, and started my first one this morning on Day 1.

A creative top-down view taken by my webmaster, and daughter, Laura Sloofman. January 1, 2015.

After finishing each painting, I’ll post my work along with other participating artists (over 800 registered from all over the world) on Leslie’s blog. It will be interesting to see how many other artists post, and what they are doing. The challenge is very exciting and a bit intimidating at the same time, since I tend to work methodically. In fact, at first didn’t even want to tell anyone I was doing this challenge, but now I’m going public.

I realized the 30/30 Challenge is a wonderful opportunity to explore new paths and to pursue the many things I have been thinking about painting for years, both in the food arena and beyond. Over the years, I took photos of everything from orchids to Sedona red rocks to classic cars, which are accumulating way too quickly on my computer (Oh, did I mention desserts?). Clearly I am a digital photo junkie who needs to buy another external backup drive just for photos, which are coming in handy now as I contemplate what to paint. Suggestions are always welcome, and would be especially timely right now.

The other day I was actually thinking that I should try painting healthy vegetables, perish the thought! While I won’t know what I am going to actually paint each day, I do know that I will be pushing myself out of my comfort zone, which is a good thing to do once in a while.

As I prepared for this painting adventure last week, I spoke with my artist friend Cristine Kossow, the pastel artist who introduced me to the challenge (thanks Cris!), and I realized that I needed different materials. The very nature of the challenge requires that you work small and quickly (unless you’re Picasso…). I decided to use small gesso panels, both 6 x 6″ and 5 x 7″ formats, with a smooth surface instead of using my usual stretched canvases, so I wouldn’t have to fight the “tooth” or texture of the canvas each day. I wanted the paint to glide on the surface effortlessly (like icing on a cake) like it does when I use lead-primed linen canvas, without the expense.

Three problems emerged:

1. I needed 30 small gesso panels.

2. Since I paint standing up, it was important to find a way to mount these small boards, so they would stay still on my large easels.

3. The “lip” of my easel covered 1/4″ on the top and bottom of each panel. I needed easy and unencumbered access to the entire painting surface.

Off I went to AI Friedman in Port Chester, NY to use the gift card that I won as August Artist of the Month, and was lucky that Tony, the art supplies manager and talented artist in his own right, was there. He is a creative thinker who always helps come up with solutions to any painting dilemma. When I got to this panel aisle, I was overwhelmed with all the choices. That’s when Tony came to the rescue.

He helped guide me to these cradled panels, which can be hung as they are, and best met my needs.

Together Tony and I devised a system for mounting the panel, using a velcro and/or adhesive putty, to a larger masonite board which the easels could securely hold securely. Here’s what the solution looks like. Now I am good to go.

I plan on posting my work here so you can follow my progress – and root me to the finish line! As I embark on this new challenge, somehow I feel like a pioneer exploring the new frontier. Cristine assures me I will be a better artist for it. I am confident that this is worth the effort and commitment, otherwise I wouldn’t be doing it.

I believe my painting will evolve in some positive way, and I will learn something about myself along the way. If nothing else, I will feel what it’s like to be more free in my approach, which is a wonderful thing. I am open to whatever comes – which is what taking that first bite out of life is all about. And what better time to start than January 1st.

Wish me luck!

My Detroit Roots Are Showing Again

December 31, 2014 by Beverly

I have been thinking about the 1969 riots in my native Detroit ever since Liz and I finalized the latest bi-monthly theme for the art card group, Abandonment and Reclamation. Back then, I was a junior at Southfield High School in Michigan, and it seemed that Detroit was never the same after the riots. Six months later when I went to a Detroit Pistons basketball game at Cobo Arena, there were so few people downtown at the game that Piston management offered free tickets to everyone who brought their ticket stubs the following week.

Here is my collage card titled “Detroit – A Prototype of Abandonment and Reclamation”, which I mailed to another member in the group. Somehow the theme struck a nerve with me this time, perhaps because of Detroit’s much publicized plight, its financial woes, together with the relatively recent Ferguson case in Missouri that resulted in more destruction.

The art card includes these two photos of the largest plant in the world, the Ford Rouge River Plant, so you can see the before and after. The Ford plant has risen from the dead like a phoenix from the ashes, and now offers popular tours to the public.

In between the two plant photos, you can see houses from the Heidelberg Project, which was started in a devastated area on Detroit’s east side. The homes were given over to communities of artists to restore and decorate using recycled material, resulting in a new tourist destination and with the ultimate goal over time being a viable arts center for the city. Here is the Dotty House, perhaps the most well-known structure since it’s showcased by the Heidelberg Project.

The right side of the card shows a rainbow of shards that are pieces that Mike Kelly recovered from the riverbeds of the Detroit and Rouge Rivers. I took some photos at Kelly’s 2013 MOMA show, as did my daughter Laura (aka my webmaster) which I used in the collage. The shattered pieces are central to the Kelly installation that partially inspired this card called the John Glenn Memorial Detroit River Reclamation Project (Including the Local Culture Pictorial Guide, 1968–1972, Wayne/Westland Eagle. 2001.

This shot shows much of the installation, which filled a large room dominated by the huge figure covered in more shattered shards.

I thought this was a rather haunting portrait of Detroit made from found bottles and jars, which is situated on the river – here a river of crushed porcelain (hence the name detroit which means strait in French). The collection of glassware presents a hauntingly fragile vision of a city in decay (I’m thinking New York City in the Pixar movie Wall-e).

Both the Heidelberg Project and the Ford Rouge River Plant tour (which gets rave reviews) are on my list of sites to see this upcoming year when I visit my mother – and the Detroit Institute of Arts, of course.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed that these two glimmers of hope represent a turning point in the history of Detroit, and open a new chapter now for this city that has finally emerged from bankruptcy – with the Detroit Institute of Arts still in tact. May 2015 be a much better year for my hometown.

In that spirit, I wish all of you a happy, healthy – and even more creative – New Year!

A Mom Who Loves Sports

December 26, 2014 by Beverly

Today I would like to introduce you to my mother, Dorothy aka Dots and Dash with Lots of Flash, the woman who supported me in every way throughout my entire life. She encouraged me to pursue my art – even when I decided to pass on art school as an undergrad so I could apply to the liberal arts college at her alma mater, the University of Michigan, and major in math (a subject that still makes her shake when she hears it, even now, long after her school career ended.)

Mom still supports my art, only now we’ve reached a new phase where she buys sweets for me to paint (or so she says), which I encourage on special occasions such as this.

Unlike most women of her generation, my mother loves sports! She says, “I love my Tigers, I love my Pistons, and I LOVE (drawn out like looovve) my Lions!”.

When I mentioned that her University of Michigan Wolverines were noticeably absent from this illustrious list of Michigan sports teams, she answered, “I am a poor sport. I hate them when they lose.” Spoken like a fan who attended a lot of games on campus during the “Fritz” Crisler era (the head football coach with a basketball arena named after him), culminating in the national football championship in 1947 during her senior year. You should hear my mother when Michigan plays Ohio State on Thanksgiving weekend… or when UM makes it to the Rose Bowl… Mom still calls to remind me that Michigan is playing, especially now that it’s basketball season – which I love! I think I grew up singing the Michigan fight song. I am hearing “Hail to the Victors” in my head right now. Go Blue!

Now Mom even follows Missouri sports since my husband grew up in St. Louis. Jay reports she’s always up on the news on his favorite Mizzou teams. Mom says Jay is still talking about the 1968 World Series Game 7 when Mickey Lolich, the infamous Detroit Tiger far out-pitched Bob Gibson from the less fortunately St. Louis Cardinals, who lost the series as a result. Mom also keeps tabs on the University of Illinois teams now that Laura goes to school there (not that Laura does…).

Often people ask me if Mom is an artist. While she isn’t, her sister, my aunt Ruth, is a talented watercolorist who lives in Columbus, Ohio (home of the Ohio State Buckeyes, of all places). Actually, I take that back. Mom is an untraditional artist if you define artist as a person who has an exceptional skill in a particular area. You could call her an “artist of current events”. Mom thrives on listening to the radio – I think of her as a radio junkie. She picks up so much information about everything and anything, including sports and the arts, and keeps me posted on what’s happening in Detroit – and, surprisingly, New York. Once she actually called to tell me a bus overturned on the NY State Thruway! You can always count on Mom for a lively discussion about current movies and TV shows, even when she has never seen them.

And did I mention that she’s a Mitch Albom fan? Mitch is a long time Detroit sportwriter and author of acclaimed books such as Tuesdays with Morrie. Mom recently got a new convert in my eldest daughter Laura, who now regularly listens to his radio broadcasts on Detroit’s WJR. Laura says he’s really funny.

Upon reflection, I think Mom earned my 2013 Sports Artist Award when she proved her sports prowess to the outside world by winning our accountant’s March Madness basketball pool – and took home $1,600! Her lead was so convincing that she claimed the prize before the final game was played. Amazing, isn’t it? All those macho men in the pool (with 180 entries!) were left behind in the dust, scratching their heads.

Dot, we wish you luck in the 2015 March Madness pool, but you may not need it with your track record – as long as you don’t get sentimental about the Wolverines and the Big “Ten”! From your greatest fans.

2003

Monet Through a Different Lens

December 22, 2014 by Beverly

Jay and I decided to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City yesterday to see the Assyria to Iberia exhibit. When we got there, we took a quick detour through the Impressionism rooms – always a favorite.

We both came to a complete halt by this painting, Claude Monet’s Garden of Sainte-Andresse (1867), where we both had strong feelings of déjà vu, like we had been there before. The feelings of going back in time were powerful, and Jay said he felt like he had been talking to Monet while the work was being painted.

Why did we feel this way? The simple answer is: We had been there before! In fact, in was a multi-sensory experience – we walked in the garden, saw it from all angles, felt the warm sunlight on our skin and the breeze in our faces. We even “met” the artist. Being a guy, Jay remarked,”The restaurant is to the left, so I’m getting hungry”, a comment that makes me smile even now.

The good news is that you don’t have to go to France to do this. Just take a drive to Hamilton, New Jersey and visit the Grounds for Sculpture where Seward Johnson constructed his outdoor sculpture installation titled, If It Were Time, based on the Monet’s Sainte-Andresse painting. If It Were Time is a full scale 3-D translation of Monet’s 2-D oil painting, which I had previously included in a June blog entry. The installation sits on a plot of land at least as large as our house lot (1/4 acre) looking out on a lake (unlike our house which looks right at our neighbors).

© The Sculpture Foundation, Inc., photo: David W. Steele

While the photos of these two works of art look similar in this blog post, our interaction with these pieces couldn’t be more different. Viewing a painting as an outsider looking in is a far cry from inhabiting the space as a participant.

To give you some idea of Seward Johnson’s sense of humor and irony, which comes out in subtle ways in many of his sculptures, here is a bronze cast of Monet who greets you at the entrance before you walk down the stairs to the scene below. Monet is working outdoors for the day in his plein air style, as he typically did.

Take a closer look at what Monet is doing in this photo, taken from a different viewpoint. The artist is painting Johnson’s If It Were Time sculpture, which is in turn based on Monet’s own Sainte-Andresse painting at the museum! Seward Johnson provocatively named this bronze portrait of the artist, Copyright Violation!!, raising numerous issues on many levels.

Is Johnson’s work really an original work of art, a slavish imitation, or a copyright infringement? The art historian in me is intrigued by all the possible interpretations. What do you think? I would love to hear your opinions.

Here’s a photo I took of the sailboat that Monet is painting, before I realized how the boat fit into the bigger picture. (FYI. While we looking at Monet’s painting at the Met, we noticed the many boats on the horizon line for the first time – quite a contrast to Johnson’s serene focus on a single sailboat.)

As you walk down the stairs and begin to inhabit the space, the effect is startling. The cast bronze bronze sculptures almost come to life, somehow bringing out the playfulness in you, as if you are actors on the stage, or talking and taking pictures with costumed interpreters at Williamsburg.

You not only walk around Johnson’s re-creation, you touch it and even sit on it. Jay was delighted there was an empty chair so he could take a break with his newfound friend.

The dictionary definition of “installation” explains things well and gives you a handle on the way to think the Monet and Johnson connection. Installation: a large sculpture-like artwork which alters the way a space is experienced. Certainly that was the case in New Jersey, quite a vivid memory too. What we didn’t expect, was for that memorable interactive, multi-sensory experience to carry over and enrich our viewing of the original artwork back in New York. At the time, we felt it was quite surreal since the two works of art became inseparable.

Yesterday we were looking at the Monet’s painting through a different lens. Our perspective changed, probably forever, which is a good thing. In fact, I think a visit to see Seward Johnson’s work at Grounds for Sculpture is an excellent way for people, particularly kids, to be exposed to art and to get truly excited about it.

P.S. We did make it to the Assyria to Iberia show, a major scholarly undertaking which is excellent, just not as much fun.

Matisse’s Cut-Outs: A Triumph

December 8, 2014 by Beverly

It must be over five years ago that I bought this box of Matisse holiday cards at MOMA. I always smiled when I looked at the uplifting design composed using cut paper, and was reluctant to use the cards since they were so “special”. After hanging on to them for so long, it was exciting and somewhat jarring at the same time to come across the magnificent original work in the “Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs” exhibit at MOMA in Manhattan (through February 8th, 2015). The scale of the real cut-out (over 10 feet tall vs. my 9 inch card) seemed absolutely gigantic, reminding me how important it is to see artwork in person to fully appreciate the artist’s intention.

In addition, I had forgotten that this cut-out design was actually a full-size mockup for a vibrant stained glass window. While I don’t think the experience of interacting with original artwork can ever be completely replicated by the online world, you can get an idea of the scale of Matisse’s works by viewing the slide show from the New York Times review. (The ‘no photo’ rule was strictly enforced by the guards the day I visited.)

“Henry Matisse: The Cutouts” at MOMA. Courtesy of Ruth Fremson / The New York Times. October 9, 2014 review.

When I first entered the show, I overheard someone say, “But these are just cutouts!” – which is exactly the point.

Matisse elevated the simple cut-out – which we all did as kids – to a major art form in his late work. After spending much of his life as a painter and sculptor, using cut-outs as mockups for stage sets, books (“Jazz”), and stained glass, Matisse turned to them as his primary medium in his last decade out of necessity (the mother of invention, so they say) – but on his own terms. Although wheelchair bound, Matisse rejuvenated himself with the help of assistants who painted custom paper to his color specifications and then cut the forms under his direction. A fascinating video part way through the exhibit demonstrates the process of cutting, pinning and re-pinning shapes (almost foreshadowing Pinterest!) that Matisse used to realize his vision, before glueing down the pieces for the final composition.

The entire show is a colorful, exuberant experience, and a testimony to Matisse’s vision and commitment to making art. He was a passionate artist with a mission, who would not allow anything to interfere with his art, whether it’s a divorce from his wife of 31 years, World War II, or abdominal cancer surgery. It’s interesting that the spirit of the work transcends these major life challenges – truly a triumph for Matisse on many levels.

If you want to see an upbeat, light-hearted show that will put you in the holiday spirit, go see the Matisse cut-outs and find out for yourself why over 500,000 people went to see this exhibit the Tate in London. Enjoy lunch at MOMA’s 2nd floor Cafe, take a short stroll to see the tree at Rockefeller Center – and don’t forget to walk by the Saks and Bergdorf holiday windows. It will be a lovely way to spend a day!

The Cake Lady, My Alter Ego

December 4, 2014 by Beverly

When I was straightening up the dining room for our Thanksgiving feast, I came across this Thank You card addressed to “The Cake Lady” from the art students who attended my August presentation at the Frank Sinatra School for the Performing Arts in Astoria, Queens.

But this wasn’t just any card – it was a giant card packed full of goodies inside drawn by aspiring artists!

While I was preparing the talk about my art career and gathering images on my laptop, I visualized my paintings projected on a small, standard size pulldown screen. Imagine my surprise when I looked up and saw this! No wonder the Cake Lady nickname stuck!

We all had a great time that day. There were a lot of questions so the presentation was interactive. Getting up in front of the students brought me back to my days as an art history lecturer at the University of Michigan, which I used to love! At one point, I even wanted to be an art history professor.

Back then I would spend days in the UM slide collection library of over 100,000 slides, flipping through numerous drawers of slides, looking for what I needed to give my weekly lectures. When I recently showed the kids a sample sheet of slides, I learned they had never even seen slides before. (I know, I know. I dated myself…). How things have changed! This time around I used an iPad too, which gave me the freedom to walk around and zoom in on details.

Thank you to Laura Blau, art teacher and friend, who invited me to speak to her class. (And no, we didn’t talk about clothing in advance. I guess artists naturally gravitate toward black so they don’t distract from the art, and then add chunky, artsy necklaces to make a statement and break up the black. )

Afterwards Laura and the kids took me on a personal tour of the student art show in the main lobby, the culmination of an entire summer’s work. I was so impressed by the breadth and depth of the exhibit, and Laura’s ability to introduce such exciting projects to her students and then step back and let their creativity flourish.

Here are a few of the many fine pieces that span a variety of media and moods, from a delicate black & white cutout of a tree, to colorful paintings and marker drawings, to intense 3D mixed media pieces (this one depicting stress by using real books to represent the weight of the world pressing down). And these kids are only in 8th and 9th grade!

It was such a nice surprise to receive The Cake Lady card during the summer and then to recently find it again. And as The Cake Lady, it felt good to rediscover a part of myself that I had forgotten, my alter ego. When I was up in front of the kids, I fell back into an old and familiar rhythm that I want to hang onto this time around. I just have to figure out how, when, why, and where (minor details…).

Any suggestions?

The Art of Food

November 30, 2014 by Beverly

I found an intriguing blog post showing a salad plate arrangement (on the right) that was inspired by Wassily Kandinsky’s Painting 201 (on the left). This is certainly a unique take on life imitating art!

I wish my Thanksgiving plate had looked this artistic. But then maybe I wouldn’t have wanted to eat it….!

You can take a closer look here. Research showed that a Kandinsky-inspired salad was not only rated as tasting much better, but restaurant diners were willing to pay twice as much for it than a traditionally arranged salad using the same ingredients!

Future chefs and restauranteurs, take note!

Another Food Artist in the Family!

November 30, 2014 by Beverly

Given the recent Thanksgiving holiday, it feels right to talk about food and art. It’s probably not surprising to you that I spend a lot of time looking at the presentation of food, whether it’s at home, at restaurants and bakeries, parties, and especially at weddings (I can picture those dessert banquet tables now!).

Nor would you be surprised to learn that I’m one of those people who takes photos of their plates at restaurants, which is just one of many reasons why I have more than 85,000 pictures on my computer.

Over Thanksgiving, I photographed our own Chef Bonnie preparing a feast for the four of us that made my mouth water in anticipation. I felt like I was watching her play the starring role on a new Food Network Show show called Bonnie’s Thanksgiving Feast Challenge.

Instead of competing against others, she competes against herself, each year raising the bar higher and higher. Bonnie, who is a special education teacher by day, spent her “free” time last week planning 23 different recipes, far exceeding the number of recipes from previous years. She researched her recipes online (carefully avoiding mushrooms for Laura’s sake), printed them out, systematically made a grocery list, and did her own grocery shopping after work. (Bonnie was so organized that Jay only had to make one quick trip to the store.) Prep work began Tuesday night while cooking and baking began in earnest on Wednesday, extending through Thursday right up to showtime.

I was mesmerized watching Bonnie calmly preparing her cornucopia of food, moving confidently from one dish to another. It was when I looked at this beautifully composed, picture-perfect root vegetable tray waiting to go into the oven that I realized I had been watching the other food artist in the family!

Here’s the rest of the team. Sometimes it takes a village just to keep up with all the pots and pans.

Bonnie’s final menu included 2 turkey recipes (she makes a wicked herbed turkey lemon recipe), with homemade cranberry sauce, her infamous popovers (nothing makes Bonnie happier than to see how them really “pop”!), her trademark stuffin’ muffins (gluten and non-gluten versions), and numerous side dishes (I lost count) from root vegetables, sweet potato casserole, spaghetti squash to wild rice with cranberries.

Here we are all dressed up and ready to get stuffed, especially Chef Bonnie, who looks amazingly fresh after all her hard work!

I decided to learn from previous years and pace myself by taking small portions of everything. (I’m getting hungry again just looking at my plate!)

We took a break before attacking the 5 desserts – including three delectable gluten-free selections. Needless to say, Bonnie sampled everything as you can see from her plate. (When people talk about Bonnie and desserts in the same breath, they are talking about the food!)

Thanksgiving is always a special family occasion since Jay, Bonnie, Laura and I are all together. (I’m thinking Tom Selleck and his family around the holiday table on Blue Bloods.) Laura makes the 10 hour trip (if she’s lucky) from Urbana, Illinois where she is working on her Ph.D. The four of us love every minute of eating one delicious dish after the other, each one more flavorful than the next. Even the cleanup is fun (well, most of the time…). Ellen Degeneres, we’re giving you a run for your money with this selfie!

So Bonnie, it’s official – you won! Congratulations on beating all previous Thanksgiving benchmarks – both in quantity and quality – and winning your Thanksgiving Feast Challenge! Maybe next year I’ll take some video to demonstrate your many talents for your show’s online debut… Just a thought. We are grateful to have a food artist in the house besides me – one that actually makes food instead of painting it!

I hope all of you enjoyed Thanksgiving as much as we did!

It’s The Little Things In Life

November 23, 2014 by Beverly

Sometimes little things can make a big difference.

I was reminded of that today while I was cleaning up after a painting session – which only lasted an hour but created a big mess! For many years, this was a huge issue since it took a half hour just to get the paint off my hands, let alone my brushes. If I had a free hour, I wouldn’t even think about picking up a paint brush since the cleanup time was so long.

Anyone visiting my home studio can see that I am not the neatest painter in the world. I use a lot of brushes and have a nasty habit of not putting the caps back on my oil paint tubes. While I tried many non-toxic cleaners through the years, none of them seemed to work well with oils, especially on my hands. I walked around with stained hands and kept my nails short so the paint under my nails wouldn’t look so obnoxious, often dreaming about the good old days when I used water-soluble acrylics to avoid the whole cleanup issue.

Little did I know how my life would change for the better when my friend Janet, the office manager for my nutritionist, recommended a new non-toxic household cleaning product called Branch Basics. A week later, I was painting in the late afternoon and had totally lost track of time. All of a sudden, I realized that my husband and I were supposed to leave for a party in 45 minutes. I looked down at my hands and groaned out loud because they were covered in red, blue and green paint, all primary colors that stain the skin quite badly (I was working on a cupcake with sprinkles on top). In desperation, I spotted the bottle of Branch Basics next to the sink, grabbed it and began spraying my hands, just like I did today when they were covered in Oreo Cookie brown paint.

Then I used paper towel to start wiping the paint off. To my surprise (and yes, I am still surprised every time!), the paint actually began coming off easily.

Voila! It’s really quite amazing that it only took 3 minutes to get my hands completely clean! I had the feeling I was watching a magic trick that collapsed 30 minutes into 3 minutes – and did the job better too. (Please excuse me if I am starting to sound like an infomercial. By the way, we did make it to the party on time.)

I decided to share this wonderful product with all of you so you can stop your search for the perfect hand cleaner. As far as I know, Branch Basics is only available online. I would recommend purchasing the Starter Kit shown below at http://branchbasics.com/shop/starter-kit-small/

Branch Basics Starter Kit

The product comes in a concentrated form that can be diluted for various uses that are discussed in the user guide that comes with your shipment, and which is posted online at http://branchbasics.com/user-guide/. I use the 1:1 ratio on my hands, which means mixing 1 part Branch Basics concentrate with 1 part water. If you decide to try the product and would like a 15% discount, please contact me and I’ll send you the code.

I am starting to experiment with cleaning my brushes using the undiluted form. For the moment, I am still using a combination of olive oil and The Masters Brush Cleaner. I’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, I have a busy day scheduled tomorrow, and look forward to picking up my paint brush for the limited time I do have between commitments – hopefully more than once. It’s still hard to believe how this one little thing has given me so much more flexibility to paint in short intervals throughout the day, and how dramatically it has changed my attitude toward painting with oils. I hope it does the same for you.

Inside Out: Frank Gehry’s Strata Center

November 3, 2014 by Beverly

Every once in a while everyone needs to get out of their comfort zone.

That’s why I look forward to working on my bi-monthly Art Card. It’s an opportunity to open myself up, to experiment with and explore different subjects and art forms. My artist friend Liz De Betheune and I run an Art Card Group, initially started by Mia and Annie (two of Liz’s sisters), with 18 artist members who create original postcard-size art based on an assigned theme, and exchange cards with other members. The latest theme was Positive/Negative.

Ever since Liz and I selected the theme, I kept thinking about Frank Gehry and the Strata Center at MIT. After finally revisiting my Cambridge photos from June, I realized that a key design element that dazzles me is Gehry’s masterful use of 3-D positive and negative space to energize buildings in surprising ways, both in the exterior and interior.

Frank Gehry is a prize winning contemporary architectect who literally turned modern architecture on its ear by removing right angles and straight lines from his architectural vocabulary, and introducing new, innovative materials with contrasting surfaces such as corrugated steel and shiny metal. Gehry designed the Guggenheim Museum Bilboa in Spain, his most renowned work that has become a major tourist destination in its own right – and is certainly on my bucket list.

While I had seen several Gehry complexes before, such as Gehry’s home in Venice, CA, the IAC Building off the West Side Highway in the Chelsea district of Manhattan, and the newer and expansive Millennium Park Pavillion in Chicago, I had never been as captivated by them as much as by the Strata Center. This huge innovative complex takes up 750,000 square feet, and is both an inspiration and counterpoint for the heavy-duty scientific research that goes on inside its walls (unlike any other walls I have seen, that’s for sure!) – an ever-present reminder to think outside the box.

From the street, the outside of the Strata Center looks like a series of unexpected moving shapes and unique structures that is strung together temporarily, deconstructing traditional norms along the way. A plethora of materials greet you. Textured brick surfaces mingle with polished metal creating pulsing forms of contrasting colors and shadows.

Fortunately, for the first time, I was able to go inside a Gehry building, where my senses were initially overwhelmed by the dynamic design of interior space – a positive and awe inspiring thing in this instance. Vibrating space pushed and pulled, turned and twisted, contracted and expanded. Walking on the higher floors was somewhat challenging and disorienting initially as the walkways whooshed around. Unlike most buildings, I could see where I wanted to go, but couldn’t get there.

The unexpected use of strong color on the inside increased the feeling of drama. In the hour that I had, I was only able to walk around a small part of the complex. Next time I’ll wander around the roof, a concept that Gehry essentially redefined.

I thought it was interesting that Bill Gates sponsored one of the Strata Center towers, and that Mark Zuckerberg chose Frank Gehry to design the new Facebook headquarters. What a bold and exciting statement! And how appropriate that the tech world is not just content with revolutionizing our social experience, but is now turning our brick and mortar world inside out too. Hopefully, I’ll have a chance tour the new Facebook headquarters when it opens in 2015.

Ultimately, I decided to work with my Gehry Strata Center photos for this my art card contribution. I started by assembling a composite of several interior shots in a folding rectangular format, a rather traditional concept in the end.

By eliminating the mental restriction of a rectangular shaped card, the idea felt more like Gehry in spirit. So I created a second card.

The card has an element of surprise by unfolding into something much larger (over a foot long) and unexpected, mimicking my experience with the Strata Center on a micro level. I was happy with my Positive/Negative contribution and mailed both of them in the end.

Thanks to the Art Card Group for keeping me from being too complacent, and encouraging me to explore new paths and grow as an artist. One day I’ll even buy Photoshop and really move out of my comfort zone!

My Hero

October 6, 2014 by Beverly

“Dear Mr. Thiebaud,

I am an artist who has painted desserts for a decade, and have tried to meet you when you visited New York. Unfortunately, the weather intervened. First, there was a major storm when you were scheduled to speak at the Neuberger Museum in Purchase, NY many years ago. Most recently, Hurricane Sandy walloped New York right before your planned talk at Acquavella Galleries.

My husband and I will be coming to the San Francisco area the first week in June, and we would like to meet you and visit your studio in Sacramento at your convenience.”

Unfortunately, my visit to Wayne Thiebaud’s studio this past summer never materialized. At age 93, Mr. Thiebaud is still a rather private person, despite being a famous award winning artist with iconic rock star status in the art world, especially among Pop Art lovers. However, his unique style actually defies any specific label.

In late May, my request was graciously turned down during a lively phone call from Kelly Purcell, the Director of the Paul Thiebaud Gallery, who called at the request of Mr. Thiebaud himself. Kelly and I chatted for a while about Mr. Thiebaud and my art, how he motivated me to try new things in my own work, which was positively received. We spoke about my upcoming trip to San Francisco, and she gave me many tips on where to go to experience the local art scene. Kelly made sure to tell me about Mr. Thiebaud’s upcoming show in New York at Acquavella Galleries in October, but mentioned that he would not be attending the opening.

Although I was excited to get a response from someone so close to Wayne Thiebaud and thought it was a very considerate, a part of me was disappointed when I had to fill the hole in our itinerary which I had left open for a trip to Sacramento. Although this was frustrating, I had to respect his wishes. Deep down, I knew that I would have done the same thing if I had been in his shoes. And trust me, there’s a point in telling you all of this.

My whole attitude changed Tuesday night when I went to the opening of the Wayne Thiebaud Show at Acquavella Galleries (18 East 79th Street) in New York City, even if the artist wouldn’t be there. So my husband Jay and I left late, taking our time getting down to the city and into the gallery.

We slowly toured the four large rooms on two floors trying to savor every work before closing. I naturally gravitated toward the food paintings, especially the desserts. I was mesmerized by this painting, with its stark white display case depicted with bold, assertive horizontal strokes, contrasting dramatically with the vibrantly colored circular cake shapes. I admired how Thiebaud revels in the application of thick paint on these cakes, as if he were icing them in his kitchen.

Sometimes the voluminous paint itself seems to be the subject, as in this work. The poetry is in the paint, with the white icing on the left dessert protruding a 1/4 inch or more from the canvas. I wondered how long it took to dry.

Let’s not forget the humble hunks of cheese that feel monumental in this small painting, and yet seem magically abstract. (Much has been written about the influence of still life painter Antonio Morandi on Thiebaud, and I could feel it here for the first time.)

Since I associate Thiebaud more with food and San Francisco landscapes, I was unexpectedly struck by the range of insightful and powerful portraits in the show, staring right at you with their vivid colors and dynamic brushwork. Jay couldn’t resist showing us his take on this Thiebaud portrait of an art historian intently examining a painting.

I was so enthralled that I never even thought to ask if Wayne Thiebaud was at the opening.

At 7:50pm, 10 minutes before closing, Jay and I went back through the galleries taking more photos. There we met Clay, an outgoing guy who introduced himself as a friend of Thiebaud’s from Sacramento, who told us Thiebaud had recently modified this painting called “Flood Waters” by adding the bridge going across the water (which explained the catalog date of 2006/2013). Clay was kind enough to offer to take this photo of the two of us in front of this dramatic birds-eye view landscape that is so typical of Thiebaud.

When I mentioned to Clay that I was writing a blog, he asked for my website, commenting that Wayne Thiebaud had just gotten an iPad. Before I knew it, I was standing next to my hero having my picture taken with him.

In the brief time that I spent with him, I got a feeling of quiet strength, humility and integrity emanating from Wayne Thiebaud and saw signs of a gentle sense of humor. I finally got to tell him how much I admired his work and had followed his career. As Thiebaud shook my hand (with a very firm handshake), he told me that was what he liked to hear – with an amused twinkle in his eye, almost like a wink. He was the kind of person I would have enjoyed spending an afternoon with, both as a student and as a friend listening to stories of his remarkable life and career.

When Clay first introduced us, I found myself almost speechless and in shock. Now that I have had a little time to reflect, I have gathered my thoughts together in a letter.

Dear Mr. Thiebaud,

If I’m really lucky, you’ll be reading this blog post on your new iPad and seeing a few things I wanted to say in person, but didn’t. Most of all, I want to thank you for being such an inspiration to me for so many years.

The simple power of your work and focus on the everyday world speaks directly to me, always bringing a smile to my face. I feel like we are kindred spirits on some level in the way we experience the world, and what we choose to paint – which is why I treasure the moments I spend looking through copies of your sketchbooks. And it was truly an honor to be included in two group shows featuring sweets with you.

Your flair for turning mundane objects into dramatic compositions, your fearless use of bold color, light & shadows, and the magic in your distinctive application of paint has certainly influenced my own approach to making art. I believe I am a better artist because of you. It was a pleasure to finally meet you.

The Sheer Joy of “Just Desserts”

October 5, 2014 by Beverly

I recently rediscovered a part of myself when I gave my “Just Desserts” painting demonstration and art marketing talk to the Scarsdale Art Association.

The experience of speaking about art was so much fun that it took me back to my life as an Art History Teaching Fellow at the University of Michigan. I loved it then, and as I found out, I love it now.

The difference was that this time I was speaking from an artist’s perspective, rather than an artist historian. This was a major shift as I found out years ago from many art students in my art history class, who groaned loudly every time I began talking about any topic from ancient to medieval art.

My original plan had been to be an artist and to support myself as an art history professor. That was before a depression hit Detroit in the 70s and art funding dried up, so I went back to the drawing board to sketch out a new marketing career. With this lecture, I came full circle.

The challenging part of this particular presentation was the painting demonstration, which meant I had to talk and paint at the same time (think of President Gerry Ford, also from Michigan, who reportedly found it hard to walk and chew gum at the same time…).

Since I usually paint while listening to classical music by my favorite composer Aaron Copland, it took some adjustment to painting while answering many thought provoking questions from an enthusiastic audience. I was up to the challenge and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.

For all you artists out there looking to exhibit and sell your work, I offered up a few art marketing tips – definitely a subject for a separate blog post. For now, the best advice I can give would be to start by picking something you love as your subject, with a personal story behind it that is easily communicated, and focus on getting a cohesive body of work together that is linked visually or conceptually before going to galleries or other organizations. Becoming an expert in that area and developing a niche that is distinctive and memorable is a good thing.

And how did the afternoon end? With desserts, of course.

Thank you to the Scarsdale Art Association for inviting me to speak on “Just Desserts” (and for helping me revisit the Fountain of Youth for one afternoon). Thanks to everyone who came out and supported this event, and to Jackie Lupo of the Rivertowns Enterprise for this terrific article.

I got a kick out of the first line: “Breaking into the art gallery world is no piece of cake.” So true.

In the future, I want to pursue lecturing about art, and capturing the joy that goes into it. I hope to see you all again soon at my next talk – wherever and whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Artist of the Month

September 1, 2014 by Beverly

Who among you doesn’t like to win?

Bonnie and I were shopping at my favorite art supply store, A.I. Friedman, when we saw a sign announcing a monthly contest with the prize being a $250 gift certificate to the store.

We started talking about why I haven’t entered before. After all, what do I have to lose.. the prize?

When an email arrived a month ago announcing the A.I. Friedman August Pop-Art Contest, I knew I would enter one of my dessert paintings, which have often been described as “pop”. Immediately, I thought of Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans and decided that I should enter a branded painting with a familiar icon. I settled on Dunkin’ Donuts and I had these two options:

I decided to go with the first painting, the classic box of Dunkin’ Donuts, since it felt more graphic and pop in spirit. I entered and completely forgot about the contest.

While recently coming back from a long weekend in Martha’s Vineyard, I checked my email and unexpectedly saw a subject that said, “Congratulations! You Won!” I let out a yell from the gut that scared my husband, who was driving, and started grinning from ear to ear. Of course, Jay wondered what the fuss was all about. I was just plain happy, excited, and proud to be recognized.

I immediately began thinking about the red Old Holland oil paint I wanted, but had put back on the shelf after getting sticker shock from the $50 price tag for such a little tube. Now I can purchase the red paint without feeling guilty. I can’t wait until my next shopping trip to the Port Chester store to browse for new art supplies. Thanks again A.I. Friedman!

For all you artists out there, Happy Entering! You never know what can happen.

Facebook Murals

August 10, 2014 by Beverly

As artists, don’t we all have dreams of striking it rich by painting masterpieces that become famous and are auctioned off at astronomical prices? Artist David Choe actually lived this rags to riches story when Facebook went public in 2012. In 2005, David painted graffifi-style murals at Facebook’s first headquarters in Palo Alto, CA, although he is infamously quoted as saying the idea of FB is “ridiculous and pointless.” Rather than taking cash, he took payment in shares which are reportedly worth $200 million. Smart guy!

Our recent tour of San Francisco’s treasure trove of murals set the stage for our private tour of the current Facebook Headquarters in Menlo Park, where I got to see David Choe’s past and present murals first hand. While the complex includes over 20 buildings, we went into just a fraction of them in two hours. I was told that an art tour of just FB murals would take more than a day. When you walk into the main lobby, this huge, imaginative, quirky, celebratory and just plain fun David Choe mural greets you.

Here’s another view since my camera lacks a wide angle lens to capture the entire wall in one shot.

On the back wall, we found this one which inspired my fish bump with a friend.

I found David’s signature in the corner near this creature reminiscent of something out of Monsters, Inc.

The tour guide reported that this more conservative creature wearing a tie was started by Mark Zuckerberg himself, beginning with the head, and was finished by David.

Of course, a Facebook mural tour wouldn’t be complete without an official Facebook Wall. Here we are with our host for the day, Jay’s bridge partner, Ed.

While everyone else was eating ice cream at the Sweet Stop (one of many retail restaurants on the fb campus), the tour guide took Jay and I to see the original David Choe murals I had asked about earlier. I was surprised to find two relatively small, vertical panels depicting a face that had been removed from its original FB walls. According to Choe, “They cut the walls out of all my paintings and sent them to Facebook offices around the world.” He called himself the “most highest-paid decorator alive.” These two works were completely different from anything I expected after experiencing the lobby murals, but then these panels were executed in 2005 and taken from their original site. As you all know, artists evolve and their style changes – a fact that somehow escaped me that day.

After seeing the second set of Choe panels, I wondered what would come next, and FB did not disappoint. It was this mural, known as the Facebook Zipper, which certainly popped from a distance as we entered another gigantic warehouse-like space. It is really a terrific illusion, isn’t it?

FB didn’t stop with painted murals. Say hello to this Lego mural and go back in time to your childhood.

Following our trip to Legoland, we came across something quite different and peaceful. I got a kick out of this mural for a number of reasons: the whimsical subject of two painters plying their craft on each other, the soft drip technique that made me want to try it, and the dramatically contrasting colors.

Then I found this mural near the office of Sheryl Sandberg (FB Chief Operating Officer since 2008), whose 2012 book “Lean In” was intended to help professional women advance their careers. I wonder whether her kids had anything to do with this one, and what this will be worth someday….

Just a random mural at least partially painted with a spray can.

I was gratified to see that Facebook is making a commitment to supporting and mentoring young artists – as well as geeks. We toured the print shop, which is home to a group of upcoming residential artists.

Here is some of their handiwork.

Thankfully these souvenir posters from the shop made the trip home safely.

Finally we returned to where we started, with Facebook goody bags in hand, feeling a bit like celebrities receiving their gift bags at the Oscars. Well, not quite since they included shirts, caps, and flash drives instead of luxury items.

Words can’t describe the rush we experienced on the FB tour of a facility packed with creative, dynamic murals and permeated by a mindset of endless possibilities. But I think this sign does the trick!

The FB motto on this mirror in the Sweet Stop Cafe sums it up more eloquently than I ever could.

Just in case you are struggling to read this – it says Livin’ the Dream.

San Francisco Mural Tour

July 14, 2014 by Beverly

I have a new appreciation for public mural art after a recent vacation in the San Francisco Bay Area – a blend of everything from folk art to graffiti seen from multi-cultural viewpoints.While my husband, Jay, and I visited a number of museums, some of the most dynamic and unexpectedly powerfully art was outside!

Our self-led mural tour started the first day at Coit Tower with its recently restored indoor frescos by 27 on-site artists dedicated to equality for all. While waiting in the elevator line, we got a good look at these more traditional images reflecting the influence of Diego Rivera, a prominent painter who led the Mexican Mural Movement in Mexican art, and who received several SF commissions including one now at the SF Art Institute. Rivera’s original mural at Coit was destroyed to make room for an image of Lenin. As you can see, rural and urban industry was an important theme here.

As the week progressed and we spent more time outside, and we started paying attention to outdoor murals like this in Chinatown

One afternoon we went to Clarion Alley Murals in the Mission District, the area with the highest concentration of murals in SF. The Clarion Alley Murals Project (CAMP) is an artists collective first formed in 1992 to help other artist create murals in Clarion Alley and surrounding areas that focused on the theme of Central American struggle. Here we see one of the more visually complex works referencing film.

Popular icons were often incorporated, as in this simple but moving tribute to Michael Jackson so appropriately executed in “Black or White”.

You can see how the quiet Michael Jackson memorial stands out when surrounded by murals packed with large splashes of intense color.

This thought-provoking mural juxtaposes a beautiful image with eery creatures and a reinterpreted Uncle Sam to make a statement. How do you interpret this one?

Then there were images of pure poetry.

Next on our agenda was The Women’s Building Mural, which is striking in its creative design and strong integration with existing architectural elements, literally wrapping around them. You can read more about this multi-cultural, multi-generational collaboration of seven women artists in 1994 here.

Murals were everywhere in Mission and we made a number of unplanned photo stops on the way to Balmy Street, including this recreational center.

Like Clarion Alley, Balmy Street was covered in murals!

Here’s one of the most hauntingly beautiful creations on a garage door.

Occasionally, we found murals like this one which incorporated iconic images from famous works of art, like Picasso’s epic “Guernica”. Which elements do you recognize?

On our way to dinner in North Beach, we came across this vivid depiction of life in the countryside outside of the US.

A few blocks away we found this tribute to contemporary jazz in the US. Never a dull moment!

For those of you who have the opportunity to visit San Francisco, I would suggest taking a Mission District Mural Tour offered for free by SF City Guides, which came highly recommended. Or look for another tour operator. There’s so much to see that a tour guide with expertise would be welcome.

Our newfound awareness and admiration for this popular and fairly commonplace art form in SF gave us a context for the murals we encountered during our upcoming Facebook Tour, which will be the subject of one of my next posts. To be continued…