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Google, GAP and Art in My Life

  • Posted on February 4, 2011 at 4:46 pm

Google has partnered with some great art museums to create an online website where anyone can take a trip or tour around the world’s great art museums.  It’s called the “GAP” for short.  http://www.googleartproject.com/ It’s a wonderful site and I encourage everyone to check it out.

When I came across this website today I was taken back to my beginnings as an art student at Michigan State University.  It really is amazing that I even ended up remotely connected to the art world.  I never had an art class in all of my K-12 education experience.  This is one reason I so fervently believe in art education.  I feel like in many ways my young life was deprived because I missed out on the creative playfulness and unique perspective the arts provide in a world ruled by math and science.  The most interesting and intelligent people I have ever met are “creative” people.

I remember thinking I was going to college from around seventh grade on.  It seemed to be a “given” that I was planning on attending college, even though I came from such a large family.  My older sisters did not have that “given” in their minds but they were ten and twelve years older than me and times were tough.  I, being the youngest, had more opportunities than they did.  I think I probably knew I was going to college because many of my older brothers had gone to school.  I didn’t know what I wanted to do.  However, for a few years I wanted to be a veterinarian like my brother Joe.  I really looked up to him and I wanted to be like him I think.  Well, until I saw him go down to Ed and Jessie’s place up north and do something unspeakable to a cow.  That sure put a kibosh on the idea of becoming a veterinarian.  I never even thought about anything in the art world because I never even knew what it was.  Nobody in my family was connected to the arts.  You might be wondering how in the world I ended up involved in art.

Botticelli, The Birth of Venus

I liked to draw.  I didn’t obviously have any training and I simply used a pencil and whatever paper was around.  When I was a senior in high school I can remember not sleeping all that well and staying up late and drawing.  I remember drawing a picture of President John F. Kennedy from our “World Book” encyclopedia.  Of course I sort of left my pictures out for my parents to notice like any kid might do.  I remember them thinking they were nice.  There was no real encouragement to pursue art at any time in my life from anyone when I was young.  I took all college prep classes peppered with a lot of math and science.  I didn’t have any room in my course schedule for art until my senior year.  I had one free hour.  I chose choir because I like to sing and because I was afraid to take an art class.  I would have to take the beginning art class and be put in with freshman students which I didn’t want to do but really I was afraid that my secret would be out.  The secret was that I had never had an art course and felt inept!  Heaven forbid that I could take a course that I knew nothing about!  Isn’t that the point of an education?  To learn about things we don’t know?  Oh, well, I digress.

Botticelli, The Birth of Venus Detail

I moved on to college not knowing what I wanted to do.  I was an “undeclared major” college student.  I just wasn’t sure what I wanted to do possibly because I hadn’t been exposed to what my true passion would become.  Back in the seventies the first two years of most college education was liberal arts anyway, so I took a lot of different courses.  I took quite a few philosophy courses which is amazing because I don’t consider myself to be very logical in many ways.  You know the old “If, then phrases”?  They never made a lot of sense to me.  However, as time went on I continued to draw.  I remember putting up my drawings on my bulletin board in my dorm room.  One drawing I did I really remember well.  I don’t know how I was exposed to the picture, maybe it was through a humanities class.  However, I fell in love with the painting by Botticelli, the Birth of Venus.  I loved the face on Venus so I drew it on typing paper and put it up on my bulletin board.  That one drawing probably created a turning point in my mind to consider taking an art class.  Other students kept asking me why I wasn’t taking any art classes.  I started thinking maybe I should.  I still didn’t have the confidence to take an art course but it kept nagging at me.

During my sophomore year I finally got up enough nerve to take a beginning drawing class.  The first day of class I can remember sitting in the art room waiting for our instructor and listening to the other students.  Most of them were bemoaning the fact that they had to take this “dip shit” beginning drawing course before they could take anything good.  I was petrified.  I thought what have I got myself into.  I was looking for an exit.  The first class was just an introduction.  After class I went up and talked to the instructor and told him my dilemma and how the other students were obviously much more experienced and how maybe I thought I should drop the class.  He asked me if I was willing to do all the assignments and come to class.  I told him of course I would do that.  He encouraged me to stay in the class and he offered that some of those students would end up dropping out because they wouldn’t be willing to do the work.  His “pep talk” worked.  I stayed in the class and never looked back.  I went on to take many art courses, much more than I needed for my B.A. so I earned a B.F.A.

Most people that I know today in education don’t realize how precious I feel a well rounded education is to the development of the whole person.  I think art is crucial in my life and opened up my imagination in ways that never would have happened otherwise.  As a teacher I have high expectations and hopes for my students.  I want to share with them my love of art and creativity.  The feeling I get when I create something with my hands, brain and heart connected cannot be measured on a test.  The push to create something new and original is always in the back of my mind.  As a teacher, I try to help my students reach their full potential and hopefully see that there is more to life than just looking at things through the eyes of some test that they won’t remember thirty years later anyway.  I see the value of creativity.  In our world today people must be creative just to survive in the high stakes of unemployment.  The world of the future will depend on the innovation and creativity of our youth.

Technology today is a wonderful tool for art education.  There are so many resources online that it is amazing what can be learned about art.  Many people even openly share their knowledge on sites like YouTube.  You may have to watch a few bad videos to get to the good ones but it is all worth it.  Here is a man creating a Greek/Roman style vase on Youtube.  It really is exciting and educational to watch him work.

Art touches everyone.  Even people that profess to not care about art carefully pick out their car, clothes, jewelry and furniture.  We all live in a society where we want to be surrounded by some element of what we think is beautiful.  When I watch those “Hoarding” shows, I even see people collecting items that they think are beautiful.  The items may get lost in all the surrounding trash, but they are there.

I encourage everyone to get involved in the beauty of the world of art.  If you cannot leave your home, travel online all over the world and view art from your own private perspective.  If you have always wanted to take an art class but were afraid, go ahead and face that fear.  You might be surprised at how wonderful you catch yourself feeling when you create something with your own brain, hands and heart!  If you don’t have access to an art class, make your own class up.  Go on Youtube and learn something new.  Many people are sharing all of their wonderful artistic talents online.  You can learn about everything from drawing and painting to basket weaving.  The world we live in is amazing and shrinking in many ways.  FDR said the only thing to fear is fear itself.  Don’t be afraid to discover your creative side.  Your brain is more than willing to create new connections to learning as you discover the beauty of pushing your creativity beyond the scope of what you thought possible.  We are all creative beings even those people that profess to not be very creative.  Push yourself to discover all the beauty art has to offer.  You might be surprised to discover your hidden talents and when you do, it will be a wonderful feeling of mental self satisfaction and fulfillment.

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Rabbit Proof Fence

  • Posted on December 29, 2010 at 2:47 pm

My son gave me “Roku” for Christmas.  It allows me to get Netflix, Amazon and other movie/TV services on my television.  I love it because I can watch movies I might not otherwise get to see.  Last night I watched “Rabbit Proof” Fence which is an Australian movie.  I must confess I don’t know a lot about Australian history, so this was a very interesting movie for me to see.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0252444/

It was both horrific and inspirational and it was based on a true story.  Young ‘caste” children were taken from their families and put in orphanages.  Caste meant they were of mixed race between Whites and the Aborigines.  The policy was extremely racist.  If a child was “white enough”, they would send the child on to be educated.  If they were not white enough their life would be one of domestic service.  The story centers around three little girls and their struggle to get back home.  It’s an amazing journey and well worth watching.  This piece on cultural survival is a really interesting read.

http://www.culturalsurvival.org/australia?gclid=CO3GgLONkqYCFQPsKgodJTA5nA

The movie just reinforced for me the struggle that people of color have always had with white people that have taken over their lands and forced them into a submissive state.  It should not shock me that Australia, which was also settled by white Europeans much like our country, created this racist agenda.  However, it is shocking to think that this treatment lasted right up until the nineteen seventies.

I find this quote from Wikipedia very interesting:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Australia

At the same time, some settlers were quite aware they were usurping the Aborigines place in Australia. In 1845, settler Charles Griffiths sought to justify this, writing; “The question comes to this; which has the better right – the savage, born in a country, which he runs over but can scarcely be said to occupy…or the civilized man, who comes to introduce into this…unproductive country, the industry which supports life.”[23] In expressing this view, Griffiths was probably merely echoing opinions widely held by other colonists in Australia, South Africa, parts of South America and the United States.

This quote could be used by any corporate country today that is trying to impose its “rights” upon an endangered people.  Ultimately money talks and those that have it will win.  Isn’t this what we as Americans do?  We go to other countries pretty much to colonize them to do our will.  I’m just putting this in words that are easy to understand, so don’t be shocked by what I say.  I heard a Coca Cola executive talking the other day.  He said they have business in over 200 countries.  I was shocked because I didn’t know there were that many countries.  Looking it up, there might not be that many recognized countries and maybe he misspoke.  http://www.worldatlas.com/nations.htm

However, the Coca-Cola Company has a history of violence against unions.  It is interesting to see where they have been accused of their misdeeds.  Many of these countries are where people of color are the dominant race.  I just find all of this interesting especially after watching this Australian movie.  http://killercoke.org/index.php

It makes me wonder about many of our corporations that have moved their business interests out of the country in search of higher profits.  This global effort seems to be creating a world of the super rich and the super poor.  When I saw this clip of Prince Charles and his wife caught in the middle of a riot, it got me thinking.  If you listen carefully you will hear someone scream, “Off with their heads.” It’s at the very end of the video and other videos I watched have been bleeped out.  The ruling classes of wealth better wise up or they may end up much like the Marie Antoinette!

People of color and the poor and middle classes are getting fed up with a system that allows such a juxtaposition of extreme wealth and extreme poverty to exist.  When is enough, enough?  It never seems like the wealthy can ever have enough.  They always seem to want more.

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The Jon Stewart and Monty Woolley Connection, Just Being Funny Here

  • Posted on December 26, 2010 at 12:50 pm

The other day I had a big laugh when I caught part of a movie called, The Man Who Came to Dinner.  I kept looking at the main character because he reminded me of Jon Stewart when he had his beard.  I know most people didn’t care for Jon’s beard and I was thinking maybe Jon needed to grow the funny moustache that Monty had to go with it.

Monty Woolley played the main character, Sheridan Whiteside, in the movie.  He’s a man that falls down on the ice and ends up taking residence in the home owners place for the next six months.  He’s insufferable and does everything he can to control everything in everyone’s life.  As I was watching the movie, I kept thinking how much he reminded me of Stewart from some of his strange intonations right down to his looks.

Monty Woolly lived from 1888 until 1963 and he was gay so I hardly think he has any connection to Jon Stewart.  The connection is only in my mind.  I read that Monty was affectionately nicknamed “the Beard” which is hilarious because nobody liked Jon Stewart’s beard.  I would love to know if anyone else sees what I see or if I am alone on this one.

Of course they are no relation and I’m probably the only one that sees a connection, but that’s the way my crazy brain works.  You can check this out for yourself and maybe have a laugh or maybe you will think my brain just works in mysterious ways.  Either way, I have had my fun comparing these two.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fMcWKXVkQU

The trailer can be seen here:

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My All Time Favorite Movies

  • Posted on December 24, 2010 at 11:12 pm

Here it is almost Christmas and this week has been great for catching those old Christmas movies on TV.  It has me thinking about my favorite all time movies.  I think it is interesting that my all time favorite movies are so old.  I was born in 1955 but it seems like my most memorable movies are those that I watched in my youth.  As my son was growing up we watched a lot of movies together and we tended to go for the action flicks.  I loved them all, but they never stuck with me.  I could watch one and then watch it two years later and not remember that I had already seen it until half way into the movie. 

The movies that have really stuck with me are the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the Bad Seed, It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, The Birds, Psycho and Gone with the Wind.  I also love catching Shirley Temple movies even if she grew up to become a staunch Republican!  My favorite Shirley Temple movie was the Little Princess.  There is only one modern movie that really shines for me and that is the Shawshank Redemption.  My favorite kid movie is most definitely the Wizard of Oz..  One of my all time favorite funny movies is Some Like it Hot.  I seem to have come out with my top ten all time favorite movies.  I know I skipped a lot of good movies like the Godfather but these are the movies that I always seem to remember which seems to be a rather big feat for my old brain!  Don’t get me wrong, I loved the Godfather but these other movies really stayed with me.

I’ll never forget the suspense of Psycho or those scary birds in the Birds.  Alfred Hitchcock was a master at creating that spine tingling suspense that keeps you on the edge of your seat.  I didn’t need blood and gore to be scared.  When I watched the Invasion of the body snatchers I remember feeling the mounting terror.  There is nothing like that original movie.  Miracle on 34th Street always made me believe in miracles and of course what kind of person wouldn’t believe that Kris Kringle was Santa Claus?  It’s a Wonderful Life always brings me back to the real meaning of Christmas, so what could be better than that?

When I was growing up I loved watching movies with Marilyn Monroe because I thought she was so beautiful.  However, the movie that stuck with me was Some Like it Hot.  Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn were just so funny together.

In the Bad Seed I saw a child that frankly scared me.  I remember that movie so well because of how evil she was.  I had never known evil, but if it had a face I didn’t think it could possibly be a blonde haired little girl.  It was an odd thing to see that juxtaposition of something most people see as good being so bad!

The Shawshank Redemption is one of those movies that you just want to cheer after because of the build up throughout the movie and the final outcome.

There is one movie that deserves a mention by me because I remember it as being a real standout movie and it’s the best I’ve ever seen Tom Cruise act.  I loved Born on the Fourth of July.  I thought he deserved an Oscar for that one.

If you are too young to have seen some of these movies, check them out.  I mean the original movies, not some crazy remake.  While I’ve been writing this, I have been watching It’s a Wonderful Life in black and white.  I think it’s great that NBC put up the black and white version.  There is nothing like seeing cold, insensitive, greedy Mr. Potter in black and white because in this movie you can really see the symbolism of the black and white.  It is ever clear how inhumane some people can be but good triumphs over evil and that is a lasting message.  At Christmas time we need to all remember George’s guardian angel, Clarence, and his final message, “Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.”  Merry Christmas to all.

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Grand Rapids Artprize

  • Posted on October 10, 2010 at 1:48 pm

"A Matter of Time" by Paul Baliker

Yesterday I attended the Grand Rapids “Artprize”.  Grand Rapids is about a two hour drive north of Sturgis.  Last year was the first “Artprize”.  I wasn’t sure what it was going to be like, so I didn’t attend.  This year the venue was widely displayed on my local television channels and I was really excited about checking it out.  Artprize is an art competition with a huge pay out for the winning artist, $250,000.  There are other prizes as well with a total of nearly a half a million dollars.  Last year around 1200 artists participated and this year found over 1700 artists throwing their hats in the ring coming from many states and even other countries.  Without a doubt this is one of the most amazing art venues I have ever had the pleasure to witness!  I kept thinking while I was in Grand Rapids that this was a real “happening” event.  I’m already thinking about next year and hoping I am able to attend it again.  I highly recommend this event to anyone that is able to make the trip.  I would even suggest planning a small vacation around it as you will never see anything quite like it any where else.  I believe this is a wonderful boost for the city of Grand Rapids as well.  The crowds were enormous.  I t was wonderful seeing so many people coming out to look at art.  The Michigan State vs. Michigan game was even on and people were not rushing home to watch the game.  They stayed to look at the art!

The downtown Grand Rapids area is very quaint and I loved being down there checking out the many different styles of art.  I was only probably able to see a small portion of this event.  You really need several days to see it all.  I was there for around seven hours and went to several different places to see the art.  I am exhausted because it was a lot of walking and it is quite spread out over the downtown area.  This year it was also out at Frederik Meijer Garden and  Sculpture Park.  I didn’t get out there and I also didn’t get down by Grand Valley State University.  I had already attended the Chihuly exhibit so I knew I didn’t plan on going out to the park.  I’m going to walk you through a lot of what I saw today but concentrate on some of the key pieces that really spoke to me.

I planned my trip on the computer and figured I would head to the Grand Rapids Art Museum first.  Unfortunately, I think everyone else was thinking the same thing.  I had to wait about a half an hour in a very long line to get into the building.

This is a panel from the final piece, Cavalry.

The very long line to get into the G.R.A.M. (Grand Rapids Art Museum)

Everyone was there, like me, to see the number one award winner, a huge pencil drawing by Chris LaPorte.  He won the $250,000 prize.  It is quite amazing that a pencil drawing won.  He used a #2 pencil, nothing else!

I didn’t get to see it!  When I got inside there was another hour and a half wait to get upstairs to see the piece.  After driving two hours I wasn’t going to spend my day just waiting in lines, so I opted out on this one.  It will be on display until early January so I may try to go back to see it!  In the lower part of the G.R.A.M. were some wonderful pieces.  Two in particular really stood out for me.

The first piece is called “Salt and Earth”  and was created by Young Kim from Winston Salem, North Carolina.  This artwork is hard to describe.  Kim became friends with the woman in the picture.  She is suffering a serious illness.  The picture is projected from lights above onto the salt below in a calotype photography method.  This is also a top ten winner.  Unfortunately, someone stepped on one of the pieces.  This piece will fade over time just as the person he met and is depicted in the photos, Patrice, will become weaker and fade with her illness.

Salt piece by Kim Young

As I walked into the room I was greeted by these strange pictures under the lights. When I turned I saw the large cirlces of salt on the floor with the picture of a woman.

I was disappointed that I couldn’t get upstairs but I was totally mesmerized by this piece created by Janice Arnold and titled “Chroma Passage”.  I was literally transformed from time and place to a tranquil feeling of being at the beach on Lake Michigan.  When I was inside this webbed structure I noticed other people just busily rushing through it.  I wanted one of two things to happen.  I wanted them to stop and feel what I was feeling or quickly get out of the way so I could enjoy my moment.  I felt like I could hear the waves rushing in and I could feel the power of the sun beating down.  I feel this piece was “transformational” because I was transformed from the art museum to a wonderful space out on the lake!  I could see her concept in the Petoskey stones that she sprinkled outside the space onto the sidewalk.  This piece was designed around this space for the museum.  I truly am shocked that it didn’t win any awards that I am aware of as it was the most emotionally feeling piece that I personally witnessed!  In her own words Janice said, “I hope Chroma Passage will be a transformative experience, changing the way the world understands textiles, art, and the personal connection we have to both.”  The amazing thing is I photographed her work statement to read later.  I felt all I was feeling without reading her statement.   The word transformative was used by both of us so I think her art was highly successful from my perspective.  She made me feel something special and it stood out from all of the other artworks I viewed yesterday!

This was put up in a hallway made entirely of windows. This is hand made felt.

I felt the waves moving and crashing against the shoreline.

Many people just simply walked through to get to something else. A few of them stopped briefly.

After going to the G.R.A.M., I went to the “BOB” which was basically the “big old building”.  There were a lot of people and many sculptural pieces.  Here are a few of these:

This was made with metal scraps.

Artwork could be sublime or even ridiculous. This piece is reminiscent of Claus Oldenburg's sculptures.

This sculpture was billed as the “human sculpture”.  This was a performance piece.  He stayed still but came out of character and surprised the crowd. I video taped him.  Unfortunately I had to hold my small, cheap camera over my head to get over the crowd.  In the process I see his head is missing much of the time.  You can get a laugh off this one!

Here he is looking like a bronze sculpture!

Later in the day when I was at the Van Andel Museum I saw this human sculpture.  Many people were teasing each other about whether he was really a person sitting there.  I’m sure they witnessed the other human sculpture piece.  This piece felt like he was truly alive.  You could almost feel and hear him breathing.  It was quite amazing!

The day was quite overwhelming with so many different art styles and pieces.  It was an art lovers dream paradise!

Here is an artwork that you could touch and play with.

Some how with my Catholic upbringing this reminded me of "Palm Sunday"! Go figure!

This piece was made up of pennies. This was an award winner.

Art is so subjective as what appeals to me might not appeal to you and so on.  I didn’t really care for the penny piece but it was big and it was complete from front to back and it rotated.  This piece was out by the Gerald Ford Museum.  There were some artworks made out of huge numbers of strange materials like toothpicks, straws, miniature balls, and other things as well.  They seemed like they must have been done by people with either great patience or  OCD or maybe even both!

These lips are made completely out of clear straws and back lit with a red acrylic piece.

This mermaid was made out of thousands and thousands of toothpicks!

This was made up of little tiny balls put into clear channel tubing.

AS you can see I went from place to place witnessing all kinds of unusual artworks.  Here are more.

Inside this piece you could make his "brain" work. This was in response to how this artist gets his ideas.

This piece had many familiar objects on it including a yellow submarine. Of course I was reminded of the Beatles. Yesterday was John Lennon's birthday as well.

I felt some fear for the little rabbit here.

A lot of dots here!

A beautiful oil painting, photographic really.

This piece reminded me of Pieter Bruegel and Hieronymus Bosch, strange indeed.

And a close up of the "man eating" sausage!

This painting had cut out pieces which looked like miniature Polish Wycinank style paper cutting.

I think this art was from Yugoslavia and it was the story of his home. You can see the effects of war.

I came across a piece that was made up of dreams.  These were essentially Ball canning jars filled with objects and some kind of preservative and then placed on shelves.  I thought it was a thought provoking piece and rather whimsical.  She included what looked like “toe tags” with many of her dreams on them.

There were also street performers.  There were many pianos out on the streets that anyone could play.  I talked to Carlos and here is a bit from him.

I saw hundreds of artworks yesterday.  It was just a portion of what was at the event.  I left with a wonderful feeling of having been exposed to some great art as well as loving the fact that so many people came out to see art, just like me.  I really cannot wait until next year.  It will be wonderful to see what people come up with next!  My son asked me if I wanted to submit something.  Some of these pieces took countless hours.  I think maybe when I retire, it could be fun.  The second place winner looks like a painting but it is actually stained glass.  It took the artist 2700 hours to create.  Each piece is so tiny.  The overall effect is just breath taking!  What I’m trying to give you is a feel for Artprize and hopefully I have done that.  Just remember that over 1700 artists had artwork on display and they came from all over the world with most from the states.  Seriously, if you can make it to Artprize next year, you won’t be sorry.  This was started by the De Vos family who happen to be very rich.  They are the owners of Amway.  The son who is around 27 is the brain child of the event.  I encourage you to check out more about this at the event website.

http://www.artprize.org/

This is not a political event.  This is an art event that speaks to all people.  There is something for everyone!

I loved these paintings. I'll put a couple up so you can see them better.

This piece was hanging over the river.

Back at the BOB. These pieces are made out of glass.

An optimistic piece at the Gerald Ford Museum.

A rather huge wood block print

This was made from ceramic pieces like a mosaic.

This is a splashing wave.

This was the first piece I saw. Notice the man performing beside it.

This was back at the BOB!

An oil painting at the G.R.A.M.

This one just made me think about "when pigs fly"! lol

This piece was interactive as you could sign your name.

This piece was made up with little tiny stitching.

This piece reminded me of a cross between Van Gogh and Seurat.

This is a cut paper piece hanging at DeVos Place.

These aren't fairies but they sure reminded me of hidden little fairies. If you didn't pay attention, these could be easily missed.

These fish looked like they were ready to attack!

This was an interesting display with the intricate lace cut out pattern on the wheel barrows and shovels.

Beautiful and made up of numerous small pieces of glass.

This is a close up view of the stained glass piece.

This is the "Dream" piece.

From the dream piece.

This was an award winner. You could only view it through a window. It tells a story kind of like we are all tied together.

This is another award winner. The heads move gracefully up and down, a kinetic sculpture.

This piece was based on found objects around the city of Detroit. It was moving in many ways.

This piece was put in a bad location which was poorly lit. It's beautiful.

A close up look at the peacock's head.

As you can see, yesterday was a splendid day.  From my drive up with the beautiful weather with the many colorful trees to my drive back contemplating my super artistic day.  All is right with the world when you can see the potential and creativity of people!

I just want to make a special note here.  The “Throw Them a Bone” piece is running into this piece.  I want to keep all of these pictures up so try to ignore it please.  I’m just not that talented nor patient enough to go through any more time trying to fix it.  I’m not about to delete and put back on all of these pictures.  I’m not perfect but hopefully you will like this post anyway!

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Paul, Wen-Shan Wang

  • Posted on September 3, 2010 at 9:13 am

Mr. Wang Talking about the Art He Just Painted.

Informational Piece on Mr. Wang

This has been a busy week as I am preparing my middle school art classroom for the new school year.  Meetings started on Monday and we even had our open house on Wednesday night.  It wasn’t a good time to run up to Kalamazoo to check out a Chinese painter and calligrapher.  However, since I already have my students work with this material I thought it would be interesting to see the “master” painter, Paul Wang.

Late last week I received an email from the Kalamazoo Institute of Art about the opportunity to go to a demonstration of both Chinese painting and calligraphy.  I decided to ask my principal if he would grant me permission to leave early Thursday so I could catch this master painter.  Eric did allow me this opportunity, which I am very grateful for as it was refreshing watching a master at work.

The ease in which Mr. Wang painted was obvious, whether he painted Chinese characters or a long, thin bamboo piece.  Mr. Wang shared many little stories with his painting techniques.  He said this is a dying art.  Before the 20th century students had to exhibit their mastery of both painting and calligraphy in an examination.  A large portion of the calligraphy is about creating poetry.  Students that performed with excellence were brought before the emperor.  They would be assured government jobs.  Today the young people of China are more interested in technology.  Chinese painting and calligraphy are becoming sought after because of the rarity of true masters.

This Artwork Mr. Wang Created in a Matter of a Few Short Minutes.

This is a Finished Painting Framed.

He said Chinese painting is true “impressionistic” painting as the artist studies nature but does not try to recreate it exactly as it is.  It is more about capturing the essence of what it is.  The strong contrast between the black of the ink and the white of the paper make it possible to see small subtleties of differences much like a black and white photograph.  Bamboo would be painted if you are having a bad day.  Orchids might be painted if you are having a good day.  He talked about bamboo being strong and hollow but also pliable.  When painted it should be straight.  The bamboo is symbolic of strength.  As the shoot grows one can notice a thickening in the shoot and then it is thin again.  That thickened area symbolizes courage.  The hollow part of the bamboo is to show humbling.  If you think of a person this falls in line with what Confucius would say.  Much of Chinese painting and calligraphy is tied to the teachings of Confucius. I found all of this so interesting and helpful to me for sharing with my middle school students.

Paul Wang Demonstrating Painting Bamboo.

This is a Finished Artwork that was on Display.

At the end of the demonstration I purchased a catalog of artwork by Mr. Wang and he signed it for me.  He explained the difference between artwork on a scroll or for hanging.  He sends his work back to China to be mounted.  Sometimes it is put on a scroll to read at night.  These pieces are usually full of poetry.  He said that people who read the scrolls at night sleep well!  He also had calligraphy printed up in accordion style books.  This was fascinating.  He explained how the Chinese characters are symbols for other things.  He painted a symbol for a woman and put it with one for a boy.  He said that represented “good” because the two together are good.

He asked if we had noticed a difference between the Japanese woodcuts and the Chinese brush painting at the Kalamazoo Institute of Art.  He was so funny when he shared with us the fact that the Japanese do self portraits where as the Chinese are more interested in nature and any person depicted would be more of a symbol.  He grimaced and made faces for how the Japanese made almost caricatures of people and that too was so fun and very fascinating.

This Artwork was One of Many Paul Wang Shared With Us.

More Beautiful Artwork Paul Wang Shared With Us.

All and all I had a great day!  Mr. Wang has been painting for sixty five years.  I could sense the peacefulness in his quick, sure strokes and I felt fortunate to have witnessed this special man with his graceful dignity and obvious humble nature.  He isn’t just a master painter and calligrapher but he is also a master teacher in the way he shared so many wonderful stories about the art forms and its place in history.

Many of the things he shared today can be read about on his website.  It is well worth reading.

http://www.paulwanggallery.com/services.html

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Art Meets Reality TV

  • Posted on August 5, 2010 at 5:30 pm

You know that feeling you get when you meet someone and they seem really great, perfect in every way and then you find out that they have just been playing you?  Well, I’ve been there in real life much as poor Sarah Palin’s daughter, Bristol, has been when she found out Levi was just not that much into her.  No, I’m not going to pick on poor Bristol.  After all she is just a kid looking for love.  What I’m upset about is the creative programming of two shows that I was meant to fall in love with, HGTV’s “Design Star” and Bravo’s “Work Of Art.  Both of these shows have the makings and potential of something really creative and exciting to watch for people like me, creative types that don’t give a damn about reality TV!  I was in love at the opening credits only to discover that underneath that great façade was some stupid businessman running the show.

The shows both started out with great promise with an individual challenge where you could get a sense of each artist/designer’s concepts and thought process.  Ever since those first shows we have been “treated” to numerous group activities that are most artist’s “HELL”.  Each show has been more interested in personalities that don’t get along then in real design work.  It really is disappointing to watch these group challenges after group challenges with snarky comments from the judges week after week.  On HGTV why did they have to bring in Donald Trump’s son, Donnie Jr., to Design Star last week?

This year is so uninspiring.  In past years the designers were forced to be more creative.  This year I have yet to witness any real creativity on Design Star.  I think the fault has to do with the direction they have decided to take the show.  The three judges, Vern, Geniveve, and Candice are all very talented artists and designers.  They must be in hell themselves for having to judge this “crapfest”.  So what’s wrong with the show?  The “challenges” are so lame that the designers have not been able to show any real creativity.  I feel like they walk through a store and just pick out a bunch of stuff and put it in a room.  There is no thought or imagination!  There is no style.  It’s so boring.  There is nothing notable about any of the wall treatments.  Nothing wonderful is built because most are incompetent like the guy that stapled his art project to the floor.  I could go on and on.  I think they need to have a better art direction or director and fire the producer running it.

The new Bravo show, “Work of Art”, started out just great.  I was blown away and just loved the show.  It has steadily gone down hill since because the show continues to put these artists together on lame group projects, much like Design Star, that end up looking disastrous.  It too is more interested in showing us the “dynamics” behind the artist’s personalities then really letting us into their creative minds.  The show pushes the two “characters” Miles, the man that sleeps all the time and Jaclyn, the, oh so “modest” female that is constantly undressing for the camera in her artwork.  These two together won the last competition supposedly because it was so cerebral it was over most of our heads.  I laugh at the thought of that!  I know all of these artists are talented in their own way.  I think the show needs to allot a bit more time for the art challenges and it needs to let the artists do individual art challenges.  Last night they finally did an individual challenge that left me wondering what the judges were thinking when they kept Peregrine who created a work of art that had drawings that really had no artistic value whatsoever.  Well, I digress as judging art is so subjective that it isn’t fair for me to put my input on this part of the show.  We don’t all appreciate the same types of art.

I feel cheated as the show started out great.  The first couple of shows I just loved.  Since then the show has gone progressively down hill.  I’ll watch it until the end but right now I am disappointed as the bloom is off the rose and the petals are falling fast.

I really like artistic type shows.  HGTV is a great place to showcase this and Bravo as well.  However, there is not enough artistic programming.  Most of the reality TV shows are just awful.  I don’t watch them.  These artistic shows have the potential to educate people about art and design but instead they end up making a mockery of it.

The other show that I like to watch in this creative vein is “Project Runway”.  The new season just started.  This show has been over the top creative in the past even going so far as to make really interesting clothing out of newspapers.  It sounded awful but the designers were fantastic in that episode.  I hope they don’t mess up the show this year like HGTV did with “Design Star”.

In the future I can only hope that people like me are hired to come up with great challenges for these artistic type shows instead of boring producers that don’t know art or artists.  It’s a simple math problem as I was meant to fall in love with these artistic shows.  They had me at, “Hello!”  With knowledge like that most producers should be able to hold my attention by doing the proper math and giving me what I want….real art, so I can fall in “love.”

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Inspiration

  • Posted on July 22, 2010 at 3:52 pm

This July 11th on a beautiful Sunday my friend, Ellen, and I went to the St. Joseph Art Fair.  I know it’s a tough show to get into, so I wanted to see what it was like since I had never attended this show as an exhibitor.  I drove about an hour and a half to see what it is all about.  I wasn’t disappointed.  Every artist brought something different to the show with their unique selection of art.  http://www.krasl.org/art_fair.aspx

When we first got there it was a bit difficult to find parking as parking was limited and it was compounded by the many exhibitors’ vehicles.  We paid ten dollars to park in a commercial lot.  As we walked down to the art show we were greeted by many cheerfully painted dogs!

Moving on to the show we came upon a wide selection of two and three dimensional artwork.  Ellen and I both made several purchases through out the day and had many interesting conversations with artists that came from all over the United States.  I want to showcase a few of the artists here today.

One of the first artists’ artwork we came across was Michelle Mardis.  Her artwork is reminiscent of Andy Warhol with its pop art colors of large portraits of animals.  WWW.michellemardis.com I really enjoyed her large piece titled “Fetch”.

She wasn’t at the show at the time we went through as she wasn’t feeling well.  It is interesting to note that these art shows go on through all kinds of weather and even if the artist isn’t feeling well.  Just like in “show biz”, the show must go on!  There is quite an investment involved with doing an art show.  There is the entry fee, travel, the cost to produce and even display the art at the show.  This is why every artist designs their own booth to best showcase their style of artwork.  Some people attend art shows for something to do as entertainment.  I advise people to attend art shows and purchase from these artists as this, for many of them, is their sole source of employment.  Their art is not only their life but their livelihood.  You wouldn’t go to a movie without expecting to spend some money for your entertainment so it should also be with these art shows.  Many people spend the day perusing the exhibits and eating the food but may not ever think to buy from these fine artists.  However, if people don’t buy many of those traveling the longer distances will not be inclined to return to the show another year.

Many of the artists at the show were obviously influenced by the art of famous artists.  While Mardi must have been drawn to the art of Andy Warhol, Penny French-Deal was obviously influenced by the art of the Impressionists and especially “Monet”.  www.french-deal.com Ellen and I had stopped to have a quick lunch and upon walking back to the exhibits we were drawn in by a picture of two cows.  They were meticulously painted but when we got up close to them, the brushstrokes were really loose and large.  Her art was some what blurry upon close inspection.  There was a softness to it that revealed some inner feelings from the artist.

Another artist, Larry Smith, obviously favored the art of Vincent Van Gogh.  www.artistlarrysmith.com I bought a print from him and he told me much information about Van Gogh and the artwork that I purchased.  He obviously knew a lot about Vincent’s art and greatly admired it.  In his own artwork he used complementary colors such as red and green next to each other to create the vibrant effect of movement.  I genuinely enjoyed Larry’s personality and the obvious joy instilled in his art.

I ran across a potter that really impressed me with his cut out piercing work.  While it may seem very simple to most people as it is simple in color with its white, pearly surface, it is masterfully carved and pierced.  The work is porcelain fired at cone 10 which is around 2300 degrees Fahrenheit.  Artwork fired to this level has to be flawless.  In order to create a porcelain bowl pierced on the edge such as this is truly a masterful skill.  I’ve worked with porcelain for years.  If a large bowl has so much as a small hairline crack, its flaw will be huge after a cone 10 firing.  This bowl was priced at $1200.  I didn’t find that shocking because I figured he lost many bowls to create this one unique piece of art. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find a card from this artist, so I don’t know his name.

Another clay artist, Scott Causey, has very unique sculptural artwork.  He won the non-functional clay award at this show.  He makes these large pieces out of very colorful glazes.  They can be frogs, salamanders and even monkeys.  He makes them and then bisque fires them and then breaks them apart.  He does this so he can glaze the different parts at different temperatures to get the special effects.  Some of his glazes are luster glazes that give off a pearly, iridescent quality.    http://www.scott.causey.com/

When I went to his website he is very proud of the fact that Al Gore has a piece of his artwork.  The story about how Al got the frog is here.  http://web.mac.com/scottcausey/Scott_Causey_/Al_Gores_Allegorical_Frog___.html

I bought a mug from two potters because they are working with cone 6 glazes and their work was well made and conceived.  I am interested in maybe lowering my reduction gas firing temperature to save the time and cost of firing to cone 10.  These guys called themselves the “Pottery Boys” and they live in Illinois.  www.potteryboys.com

Some of the artwork was silly and whimsical and just plain fun.  This art was artwork created to just inspire people with fun sayings and happy colors.  Some of the artists that fall under this category are Susan Kline, Anne Leuck Feldhaus, Holly Sue Foss, and Patricia Statzer.  I had so much fun reading the sayings and looking at the colors in these booths.

www.sptddog.etsy.com

www.AnnesArt.com

www.fossart.com

http://www.patstatzer.com/

Another inspirational artist I met was Tres Taylor from Alabama.  He paints on tar paper.  Ellen recognized the material as it is common roofing material.  She said they used to put it on the windows when she was a kid to keep out the cold.  Tres is a man that embraced his artistic side later in life and rejected his previous occupation as a biochemist.  His story is so interesting.  His artwork reminded me of Modigliani with its elongated features for the people.  There are also hints of Paul Klee and even Picasso in his shapes and faces.  His work is probably considered a sophisticated form of primitive art.  You can check out more of his artwork at his website.   http://trestaylor.com/ I highly suggest reading this article and viewing his installation artwork. http://blog.al.com/entertainment-press-register/2010/01/amazing_journey_artist_finds_m.html

It is just amazing in its concept and story as well as the many children that he has obviously touched through this installation process through art.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/12144219@N03/sets/72157623065536433/show/

It was fun talking to Tres.  I would be thrilled if my students could have the opportunity to work with him and see his installation artwork.

Another artist that I really enjoyed is Pat Custer Denison.  www.denisonartstudio.com Her artwork is created with ceramic tile and wood.  She is a painter and printmaker that studied at the University of Michigan.  She lives in Honor, Michigan so I’m hoping to stop by her studio when I visit the Traverse City, Maple City area.  Many artists live, as I used to, up in the Grand Traverse area.  It’s a great place to produce art as you are surrounded by all the beauty Michigan has to offer.  Her artwork is very fun and whimsical.  Some of the pieces are quite large.  She inserts commercial clay tiles into large cut out wood shapes.  Her artwork tends to have many colorful characters that seem to tell a story upon close inspection.  She screen prints some of the design on the clay tiles to reproduce the image more than once.  I found this process interesting as I have never silk screened on any of my artwork.  I have seen this done in books but have never actually met an artist using this method.

Two of the artists work in very traditional materials that I feel are almost like a lost art.  The first is Jane Bowers who creates “Pysanky” eggs.  These are the very colorful and skillfully designed eggs that are reminiscent of Easter but are so much more involved than a typical Easter egg.  Making pysanky has always been a part of her life as this tradition was passed down through her Ukrainian family for many generations.  On a trip to the Ukraine she had the honor of presenting one of her eggs to President Leonid Kuchma.  Jane was so open with me about how to create these eggs.  She wanted to help me as a teacher to pass on the beauty of this tradition.  I loved talking with Jane and many of the artists as they were all so open to me when they found out that I am a middle school art teacher.  Artists are great teachers and generally want to share their knowledge as long as you aren’t some “copy cat artist” just trying to steal their designs.

The other artist working in a highly traditional almost “lost” type art is Brian T. Keller.  Brian works with traditional egg tempera.  He mixes his own paints much like Van Dyke or other great artists of the past did.  This involves getting commercial pigments and using egg yokes.  Of course he doesn’t have to grind the pigments like the artists of the past might have done but this was still amazing to me as there are so many different types of art materials and paints that could be used today.  He works in a very highly detailed fashion.  Just looking at the detail in his wood grain floors is truly amazing.  Brian is highly skilled.  I just loved his artwork.  He told me that the he works in layers and that the egg tempera dries quickly.    http://www.btkeller.com/

As you can see by all that I’ve shared with you today I truly enjoyed this art exhibit not just for the art but for the many intriguing conversations I had with the artists.  It was fun going to an art show as a viewer and not a participant.  I loved hearing about the different stories each of these artists had in the story of their own art.  Only two artists didn’t want to be photographed.  The rest were happy to indulge me with the many pictures I took.  I ended the day being inspired by these wonderful people.  They are all gifted with amazing talents and they were more than willing to share their time and knowledge with me.  I ended up buying small pieces from several of the artists I spoke with as did Ellen.  We had a great day and we lucked out with beautiful weather.  I would definitely love to go back to St. Joseph again for this art show and to see the wonderful city nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan.  I will end by sharing some additional pictures from many other fine artists.  If you haven’t been to an art show lately get out there and meet some artists.  The Ann Arbor Art Street Fair is going on right now.  It’s a four day event so you still have plenty of time to visit through Saturday.

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Bravo’s Work of Art

  • Posted on May 22, 2010 at 8:11 pm

As if we needed another reality show!  Okay, so we might, if it involves art.  I love the concept of an art contest in the manner of “Project Runway”.  I don’t know what the artist wins exactly, maybe a special exhibit somewhere.  As an art teacher I know it is hard to tame the creative mind and lump it into a time frame for anything.  Creativity isn’t something that switches on necessarily at will.  I have a student right now in my advanced 8th grade class that is super talented.  She probably wouldn’t do well under this kind of pressure as she has a hard time meeting deadlines with her artwork.  How will these artists be challenged to create art and who will be judging the criteria for great art?  Those are the two questions that I have in my mind.  Don’t worry as I’ll be tuning in to see what happens with this show.  I hope it truly is creative and not some “staged” creativity that feeds the masses what they think art is all about.  Today art can be almost anything from realism to true fantasy to the fatally ugly.  Making a statement in art isn’t always beautiful and sometimes is political and at others it merely mocks reality.  I haven’t a clue what kind of art this show will have produced for it.  I find it mildly interesting that it is being produced by Sarah Jessica Parker.  I haven’t a clue what qualifies her for this.  Is she an art lover?  Is painting her secret passion?  I know she’s been featured lately on some shows like that ancestors, genealogy thing.  I really don’t care why she’s involved but I’m wondering why it’s being played at eleven at night.  I’ll still have one more day of school but knowing me, I’ll probably watch it and suffer through that last day!  I’m going to get my art on and have my art fix.  I hope this show pumps up the volume and pushes the envelope on creativity.

http://www.bravotv.com/work-of-art

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Sturgis Middle School Annual Art Show

  • Posted on May 12, 2010 at 10:29 pm

Another school year is almost finished and I’m busy with the end of the year art activities.  We recently had 6th grade orientation for next year’s sixth graders.  I put up an art display for that.  I’m putting up another display for the board meeting and orchestra concert on the 18th.  The show that I really look forward to is the annual art show at the Sturges Young Civic Auditorium.  I just set up that show Monday night.  Two of my students helped me set it up.  Every year I always think about how I’m going to put this together and every year I am filled with excitement at the talent my students exhibit.  This year was no exception.  I always think I don’t have enough variety of quality work to fill the show and of course I end up with enough to fill two shows.

There are about 140 artworks in the show by around 90 students.  Both two dimensional and three dimensional works are represented.  There are pencil drawings, colored pencil, watercolor, acrylic paintings, collage work, sumi-e painting, scratch art, sculpture, pottery and both oil and chalk pastel.  This is but a few of the shots that I took.

The show will be up through May 24th.  I encourage anyone that is in the Sturgis area to stop in and see it.  Here are some more three dimensional artworks.

As I said these are just some of the many artworks in the show.  Be inspired by the young people with artwork represented here.  I am.  I love working with these young students.  It is a thrill to see them develop their artwork under my tutelage.  I take great pride in what they accomplish and great ownership in the work that I do to get them to this level of development.  As I have said in past posts, “You got to have art!”  I can’t imagine my life never having explored the field of art and art education.

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