The Biennial at the Portland Museum of Art ~ May 29th

I finally made it to the 2011 biennial show at the Portland Museum of Art the other night. The show includes 65 works of art from 47 artists with ties to Maine. There were some really interesting pieces in the show, and I thought I'd share a few with you. (Please click on each image for a better view.)

This is one of my favorites, an interactive exhibit called Synergy 17.

The globules are each made from 3 lbs. of wax.

I love the colors of this painting, Early Morning Light.

The exhibit made of chairs in the foreground is from artist Lauren O’Neal. It's called The Earnest Contingent.

This huge cut-paper piece is Natasha Bowdoin's Untitled Alice. One blogger described it as "a visual take on Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass."

 

A patron walks by Calvary #2 by Marissa Girard

Below is a view of For The Trees by Avy Claire of Blue Hill, a series of panels of polyester film upon which the artist used a rapidograph to create a forest of ethereal trees from words.

I was impressed by this huge drawing of a barn. I can't imagine how many hours it took artist Carol Rowan to create it.

As someone who loves mixed media, I got a kick out of the fact that artist John Walker used bingo cards as backgrounds for his oil sketches.

And, because it's my blog and I can do what I want, here are 4 photos from this Maine photographer that were submitted to the biennial but not chosen for inclusion in the show:

Sunset Reflected by Elizabeth T. Schoch

Forgotten by Elizabeth T. Schoch

Stacks by Elizabeth T. Schoch

Twilight Silhouette by Elizabeth T. Schoch

I call this series of photographs Looking Up. These photos were created on two evenings in April 2010 as I walked through the section of Portland, Maine, bordered by India Street, Federal Street, Hancock Street, and Commercial Street.

As I walked through the spring evening, I wanted to take a different perspective when shooting. I began shooting up at what was above and around me. With this exercise, a number of questions arose: How often in our busy lives do we take time to truly notice our surroundings? How often do we look above eye level? What are we missing as we move through the world?

What I found when I looked up were colors, textures, shapes, and architectural details that intrigued me.

I hope you've enjoyed this mini art show. There are several articles that have been written about the biennial, so if you'd like to read more and see more photos, view a list of articles here. You can also read about the prize winners here. If you're in the area and haven't seen the show yet, it'll be up through June 5th.



Oh, domesticity! ~ May 26th

One of my favorite quotes is from the author Laurie Colwin in her novel, The Lone Pilgrim. I remembered it today when reading Sarah Ban Breathnach's Simple Abundance. She mentioned Colwin as an author who celebrates domestic delights. That reference sent me to the Web to find this quote, which I used to have displayed on my refrigerator.

"Oh, domesticity! The wonder of dinner plates and cream pitchers. You know your friends by their ornaments. You want everything. If Mrs. A. has her mama's old jelly mold, you want one, too, and everything that goes with it -- the family, the tradition, the years of having jelly molded in it. We domestic sensualists live in a state of longing, no matter how comfortable our own places are."
                                                                                             from The Lone Pilgrim by Laurie Colwin

Gray weather pictures & collage charms ~ May 20th

It's been a full week of gray, rainy, foggy weather here in Maine. But luckily, if we look closely, we can always find plenty of beautiful sights to see around us. I took my camera with me a couple of days this week as I did errands in Falmouth and went to my favorite coffee shop in Portland. Come along and see what I found to photograph...

This is a lovely magnolia tree that grows alongside the Falmouth Memorial Library. I took these photos last Saturday when I went to the library for our monthly mixed media group.

I returned to the library Wednesday (can you tell I use the library a lot?) and captured this red bush (species unknown) and some clover, all covered with drops of moisture. It's not so easy to photograph in the rain, but it's not impossible either.

(You can click on each of the photos for a better view, BTW.)

Heading into Portland on Wednesday, I passed the Eastern Cemetery and knew I just had to stop to snap a few shots of this old burial ground in the fog.

I love the moodiness of foggy day photos.

Lots of creative energy shifting going on with me this week, which has been fun! I made my first collage charms, and I'm so excited about making some more of them and possibly incorporating my photographs. Here are my first 2 little charms:

So despite the gloomy weather, I've been making the best of things -- and making some arts & crafts -- so it's been a good week! The sun is supposed to make an appearance this weekend, which will be a nice change. I wish all of my readers a very happy weekend!

The importance of loving mentors ~ May 17th

[Fred Schoch September 29, 1927-May 17, 1992]

If we're lucky, we find someone in our lives to act as a mentor. In my case, from day one I had a mentor who taught me so many, many valuable lessons, all delivered with great love and support. He taught me about uncondional love. He taught me about using my imagination and how much creativity can lead to a joyful life. And he taught me how to follow my own path rather than following the crowd. I'm a lucky, lucky person to be the daughter of Fred Schoch, and today I post this blog in his memory.

Thanks, Daddy! You're the greatest!!

Vintage Vignettes: Still Life with Trading Cards ~ May 9th

I realized the other day that Art in the Park is little more than 3 months away. Yikes! I'm exhibiting there, and it's my first art fair. I really need to get my act together.



Right now I'm working on a new series called Vintage Vignettes. Self-explanatory, I guess. I started when it was still winter and it was hard to get outside to shoot.



I like to play photo stylist. I just look around my house for interesting vintage items and see what I can do with them. I love these trading cards -- still so colorful, even though they're about 100 years old.

I'll be posting more of my photos as the weeks go by and I continue to gather images together for the art show. Please let me know if you see any you like. I'd appreciate feedback -- it'll help me narrow down the choices and figure out which photos to exhibit.