I finally made it back into my studio and knew there would be some change or shift in my work. I wanted in some way to address both the pandemic and the demonstrations and this piece reflecting life layers the two. I debated what to titled the piece and had thought to call it 2020 but settled on Say My Name.
I am getting ready to head back into my studio as I wrap my head around the fact it may be another six months before there is a vaccine and we all find our new normal. Making repairs or repurposing furniture has occupied my time the past couple of months. The bedroom is no longer blue. A color it was painted after 9/11, but now I was ready to return to a shade of white and no longer have my ceiling look like shadows of the dark side of the moon. I gave the room in which I begin and end each day the calmness I needed in my isolation.
You could say I live alone but I say I live with my art and that includes my apartment which I consider to be a three dimensional portrait of myself that you can walk through. When I said to another artist with whom I am to collaborate that I’d been procrastinating working on my home he kindly said our homes are our art ….. So that’s what I‘m going with.
But in spite of the break or shift in artwork my art has been out there working for me. BWAC, like so many other things, went online and you can find me both on the BWAC site Art From The Inside. Have a cup of ice tea or coffee or maybe a frozen margarita and check out the wide range of our artist and their work. For those of you who are making your homes more comfortable and are looking for my functional art you can go to BWAC’s makers market on etsy and find a piece of Brooklyn you would like to hang on your wall since we all aren’t getting around much anymore. Maybe the times call for a new bowl to put your salad in or perhaps in your solitude you are ready for real napkins and a more formal table once we can have company around our tables again.
But please keep coming back and checking out my blog as I begin posting my new work and see how the new lives we have been living has had an affect on my art.
I’ll begin this post with the piece I finished around the time of lock down before you think its all talk and no art. At the moment this is called Me! More art further down. But do read on to appreciate my journey in isolation.
Many of my fellow artist have talked about the difficulty of feeling inspired to create in the mist of sheltering in place. I think we have all found that in spite of the fact that many of us are solitary in nature when creating there is that need to share when we come up for air. I don’t know that I ever got over whatever grade show and tell stopped being a part of school.
I woke up one morning weeks ago and my life became about what I would not be doing. First it was a workshop I was to teach would not be happening, then exhibitions that would have been a source of inspiration and info postponed and then shows in which I was to exhibit or planned to submit work were up in the air as to how they should proceed. Once again I had lost show and tell.
Even my volunteer work at the hospital was put on hold. For our own safety they had let us all go and we have no idea when we can come back. I have been volunteering there for around twenty years. Creating art with children and their parents in pediatrics, art and writing with people while they were receiving chemo and for the longest time art workshops in the psych ward and dementia wing. I miss it. I miss sharing what brings me joy. I miss helping them open that door to their own creativity. I love that moment when you see the joy and light come on in their eyes. There is life in creating
The huge dining room table I had made to sit with 16 friends and share a meal became where I made my mask and mask for friends.
My friend in Germany zooms with a group of us once a week to deal with his isolation. His friends are all over Europe and here in the states. One person wanted us all to put our mask on and for a moment we were all united in a shared experience and there was a comfort in we are not alone. As the saying goes we are all alone in this together and at the same time the frightening thought that the whole world is in danger together and the Star Trek Enterprise is not going to appear and release something into the atmosphere to save us. We are on our own to do that with isolation and with faith in each other.
But then my friend asked if I would like to do an art project with everyone and I decided to do the workshop I would have taught last month and in the psych ward. I was to just give a quick 15 minutes of instruction and then show and tell was to be the following week but we ended up working on our portraits for 2 hours showing, telling, laughing.
Here is my piece I have titled Lady Zoom … All dressed up and no place to go! 
Sharing what I do was a release to the blocked door to my creativity. It set me free. There was a portrait I had been very excited about creating . First I found the background paper was the inspiration and then decided who would be in the foreground and then we were put on pause. We artist went into this thinking no problem we’ll just make art not realizing because of the isolation our creativity had also been paused. But after sharing and creating Lady Zoom I was able to go into my studio and let it (my creativity) flow out into my living room. Which means I made a big mess while creating.
Here is the end result of that. Whenever I do one of these portraits I look at them and keep asking them who are you? What is your story? She came first and then he followed. It is titled The Dancer and The Poet or they told me that was who they are.
Otherwise Engaged was accepted into Salmagundi Club for their Exhibition of Portraiture and Figurative Art. The show opened yesterday and will run until March 12th, 2020. When I commuted on a regular basis I was always struck by the number of people continually on their cell phones unaware of heir surroundings or each other.
Some of the papers in this piece were either made by me or my friend Anita. When I go to visit she and I will spend hours in the garden making paper. So when I look at this piece I think of the hours in Anita and Rob’s peaceful garden totally engaged in our making paper our only distraction to not loose the sun. Its my adult summer art camp.
The exhibit at 47 Fifth Avenue @ 12th Street will run from February 24th until March 12th, 2020. Mon.-Fri 1 to 6 pm and Sat. & Sun 1 to 5 pm. Artist and guest reception Thursday, March 5th 6:30 to 8:30. Hope to see you there.
But you can still catch my work at the WAH Center in Williamsburg for its 21st Salon show that has been extended to April 4th and until this Friday the 28th you can still catch the Black History Month Exhibit at Gallery 18 in Riverdale .. Where We Were, Where We Are And Where we Hope to Be. Below Honeysuckle Days
I also should add new opportunities because I can now add juror/curator. I was invited along with Tony Wells, a fellow collage artist to choose the work for the Black History Month exhibit in Riverdale’s Gallery 18 Opening this Sunday, February 9th from 12 to 2 pm.
But the day before, on the 8th, see this years salon exhibit at the WAH Center in Williamsburg in the beautiful old bank building on the corner of Broadway and Bedford. Actually its the 21st Anniversary Show at the beginning of the 21st century. Hours of the opening 4 to 6 pm on Saturday February 8th.
And now a little peek at a works in progress. Generally the work selects the paper but in this instance I found this paper and it chose and inspired the art.
The opposite of that is the art choosing the papers. I will keep you updated on its progress which has also happened since this photo below was taken with many new changes .
I like taking several different approaches because they each teach me something new. And now that I have finished the paperwork to have my taxes done and can get back to work in my studio including new works in clay!
I just like making things …. a bowl, a paper relief sculpture or baking something to eat.
There will be madeleines. Twelve in a gift box for $10 with a mix of plain, rosewater with pistachio and a lemon/ginger glaze, coco/espresso. matcha (green tea) and orange.
There are also mini coquito sweet potato cheesecake pies. Two four inch pies for $10. Buy a teapot to have a cup of tea with your dessert or a bowl for the madeleines
So come to the Brooklyn Historical Society this weekend Saturday 11am to 6pm and Sunday 11 am to 5pm. There’s lot so see and don’t forget to check out BWAC’s auction which you can do on line or be there when it happens live on Sunday.
Don’t forget to click on the subscribe to feed button at the top of page below my name. Happy holidays!
An update on what might come with me this weekend to the Brooklyn Historical Society. 
Or is he looking sad because he won’t or maybe he’s dreaming of cappuccino madeleines and he won’t be there. Photos of cookies to follow in a few days.
I’m still in love with the process of making the birch trees. Years ago I would walk to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens to look at, be amongst and sketch the birches. I loved how beautiful they looked in winter and then again in spring when they began to bud. There is something beautiful about their growth and a peeling away of layers to do so. Much like life.
They will be a reoccurring theme in my paper relief work for awhile yet to come as I play with different ways to achieve the peeling bark and that play with dark and light that is natural to them.
A piece I have donated to BWAC’s auction has a field of birches. They came first and then the sky with stars and then I thought someone should be here to see this so then came the woman dwarfed by their presence and the sky.
But lets not forget my ceramic work. Aside from the city-scapes (another one of my loves) there is still my what i like to call my functional art. The Japanese wall hooks will be there showing their multi uses. Everyone likes their holding ties either hanging down or neatly folded . But I like the simplicity of them holding the soap and washcloth. They are just $50 apiece.
Hope to see you there.
Has the holiday shopping online left you feeling unfulfilled? Do you want to look onto the happy face of an artist as you buy something they have created with their own hands and they place it into yours? Do you want to give the gift of a handmade creation to yourself or someone special? Do you long for one of a kind unique gifts to give to someone who is unique in your life? Come to the Brooklyn Waterfront Makers Market at the Brooklyn Historical Society @at 128 Pierrepont Street @ Clinton Street in Brooklyn Heights on December 14 th & 15th
I will be there with around 30 other artists selling our handmade art and crafts items that make great gifts from a painting to put on the wall to a bowl or handmade candles. I will have a variety of bowls and small trays and if I get them done on time my espresso, matcha, or rosewater/pistachio madeleines .
But if I don’t get them done there will still be my bowls waiting to be filled with someones special dish. I got into making these oval dishes and bowls because my dining table at home is long and narrow and its how I can have the food on the table to pass around. The bowls are around 12 x 6 x 3 inches and run from $50 to $80.
Or if you are in the bidding competitive mood BWAC is having its auction fundraiser in the beautiful tile hall of the Brooklyn Historical Society and the museum will be open and free of admission during our event. Bid on my paper relief Into The Night Woods. For the wonder of staring at the stars 12 x 12 x 2 inches …… starting bid $175
Come, give the gift of art with ceramics, paper reliefs, or a small city-scape of Brooklyn
Hope to see you there and if not I hope you have a great holiday.
Contact me if you have questions or there is something you saw during the open studio. Don’t forget to push the subscribe to feed button.
Thank you everyone who climbed up my four flights of stairs this past weekend for the arts ps/wt open studio. It was great to get to meet and talk with all of you and i hope the lemon squares and warm cider helped make it worth the trip.
in a little less than a month you will find me with over thirty other artists at the Brooklyn Historical Society in Brooklyn Heights on December 14th & 15th. More info to follow in a couple of weeks but mark your calendars. First i will let you get through Thanksgiving.
But check out this great article written by Pam Wong. I thank her again for treking up my stairs and checking out several other artist on our tour.
Until then while wandering 7th ave looking for your next meal or cup of coffee look in Robert Carroll’s window to see What!
or in the Nitehawk mezzanine having a nite-cap you will find Waiting For My Solo.
Have a great holiday and hope to see you in December at the Brooklyn Historical Society.
Here is the wall as it stands now and lets see if anything new happens between now and then.
And here’s a closeup of Otherwise Engaged
By artsPSWT on Oct 26, 2019 10:08 pm
You are invited to our annual Park Slope/Windsor Terrace Artists Open Studio. Dozens of local art studios will be open for visitors, along with special exhibitions throughout the neighborhood. All are located within walking distance and in the beautiful blocks bordering Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Participating artists are listed below. In addition to each open studio, Ossam Gallery at 300 7th Street is hosting a two-weekend show where many of our artists are participating. We’ll also have an opening party, demos, talks and performances.
Open Studio Tour Weekend November 16 & 17, most studios open 12 to 6pm
Open Studio Central at Ossam Gallery November 9 & 10 and November 16 & 17, open 12 to 6pm
Opening Party at Open Studio Central, Saturday, November 9, 5 to 8pm
Download a map here, and be sure to check out our sponsors—many have special offers during Open Studio Weekend.
2019 Participating Artists
(Alphabetical list. Map is grouped by location)
Carol Adams 609 18th St, bet 10th/11th Ave.
Chris Baily 200 St John’s Place, garden level, bet 7th & 8th Ave
Alyce Barr 252 15th St., bet/ 5th & 6th Ave
Josephine Bentivegna Ossam Gallery, 300-302 7th St, 3rd Fl.
Jonathan Blum 285 5th Ave.
Nan Carey 517 17th St, bet PPW and 10th Ave.
Art Cabrera 303 16th Street
Paola (PJ) Corso Roots Cafe, 639 5th Ave (at 18th St.)
Phil DeSantis 229-A Windsor Place, bet 10th & 11th Ave.
Nancy Doniger 7 Windsor Place, bet 7th & 8th Ave.
Chris Doogan 164 15th St. Basement
Raya Dukhan 406 7th Ave, at 13th St. corner
Steve Ettlinger Ossam Gallery, 300-302 7th St., 3rd Fl.
Alice Garik 243 Windsor Place
Rich Garr Roots Cafe, 639 5th Ave (at 18th St.)
Karen Giordano 593 17th St, bet 10th & 11th Ave.
Sandra Giunta 229-A Windsor Place, bet 10th & 11th Ave
Robin Glassman 179 Prospect Park SW, bet Reeve Pl & Greenwood Ave. top buzzer
Lynn Goodman 489 14th St, bet 8th Ave & PPW, bell #8
Susan Greenstein 229-A Windsor Place, bet 10th & 11th Aves
Bob Hagan 202 17th St, bet 4th & 5th Ave
Judith Eloise Hooper 489 14th St, bet 8th Ave & PPW, bell #8
Eric Jacobson 554 6th Ave, 6/15 Green Community Garden, 6th Ave bet 15th & 16th St.
Tom Keough 303A 16th St.
Caryn Kreitzer 16 Temple Court, off Seeley and PPSW
Lisa Lincoln Ossam Gallery, 300-302 7th St. 3rd Fl.
Alise Loebelsohn 215 17th St, bet 4th & 5th Ave
Joy Makon 41 Fuller Place, close to Prospect Ave
Daniel McDonald 623 Carroll St, bet 5th & 6th Ave, Parlor
Susan Meltzer 623 Carroll St, bet 5th & 6th Ave, Parlor
Charlotte Noruzi 230 17th St, bet 4th & 5th Aves., 2nd Fl.
Dara Oshin 243 Windsor Place, bet 10th & 11th Ave.
Robin Roi 609 18th St, bet 10th & 11th Ave.
Bernette Rudolph 457 3rd St., bet 6th & 7th Aves #2R
Cynthia Ruse Ossam Gallery, 300-302 7th St, 3rd Fl.
Howard Skrill Ossam Gallery, 300-302 7th St, 3rd Fl.
Mary Skrill Ossam Gallery, 300-302 7th St, 3rd Fl.
Janie Samuels Ossam Gallery, 300-302 7th St., 3rd Fl.
Deanna Sokolin 363 11th St, bet 5th & 6th Ave. 2nd Fl.
Sean Qualls 335 Prospect Ave., across from Calder Pl. Top Floor
Joyce Weinstein Ossam Gallery, 300-302 7th St., 3rd Fl.
