Winter Swamp Still Life's/Florida West Coast/Hillsborough River

I think some times I say too much, so this time I thought I would let you enjoy some photo's taken Sunday at a nature preserve without commentary.  http://www.canoeescape.com/hillsborough.htm

Why is Art Important in our Schools, our lives and our Societies?

 

 

View from Dali Museum of Tampa Bay

Salvador Dali is not the easiest artist to understand with his melting clocks, hidden symbols, and sexual imagery, yet he is recognized as a master artist and people flock to the new Dali Museum in the Tampa Bay Area.  Why?  Why did David and Harriet Dyer spend a life time and a fortune collecting Dali's work?  Why did the city of St. Petersburg commit huge amounts of funding to build a museum of the Dyer collection? Why is this museum so crowded with people on the day after Christmas you can't even get close to the pictures?  Why is the new museum breaking records for attendance? What is the fuss all about?  It is only paint on canvas, and weird strange images at that, why? 
 I think you must go even further and ask yourself what is the importance of art in our lives...all art, all artists.  Being a teacher of the arts in public schools was a humbling process as an artist and teacher.  My role was not only as teacher of the basics of art to children, but as much to the adults I worked with in the schools.  Much of the time I found myself being an art advocate and resource counselor for those with little education or understanding of the arts. In my career as an art educator I was more likely than not to be evaluated in my teaching by non artists and those who had little understanding or education in the arts.  There is a culture in schools that is pervasive, it is those who are have an education believe what ever area their education is in is the most dominant and important.   It takes a rare leader to have a wider more expansive view of what learning is about.  I did work with a few of those rare leaders who helped me bring art alive to children and community and who began to see that arts are an intellectual process and activity.  I think the hardest thing for administrators in public education to understand is the intellectual nature of art. I cannot speak of all school systems around the world, only in the United States public schools.  Hopefully in your area, in your country it is different.  But to me art is many things, but it is primarily a process of thinking, adaptation of skills and expression.  It can be beautiful, it can be ugly, it can be difficult, but one way or another its role is to make us think. Art is higher order thinking, so when an artist goes beyond copying, to interpreting, to altering, to experimenting, to envisioning it is a process not unlike the scientific process...it is Einstein, it is Hawkins, it is Bach, it is Gaudi, it is Bell, it is Steinbeck, it is Faulkner, it is Leonardo da Vinci, it is Dali.....
The human need to do art has been around since the beginning of man, from the prehistoric caves in France to the present time.  Perhaps the reasons we do art changes subtly, but not implicitly.  With the invention of new materials, and innovations like the camera or computer our needs change and our method of expression may be different, but not the need to think, interpret and express.  Our society, our civilizations leave a record of expression, an interpretation of who they were, what they were thinking, and visually we go on that journey with them...like a time machine.  
I will always think of the artist as the modern shaman, the cultural absorbers of our time, who then interprets it and presents it back to us...Dali makes us think, he presents challenges, he does not make it easy for us, he ask a good bit of us, otherwise we could walk away and say what a pretty picture!  But we can't and look how many of us want to think in depth and how many of us want a challenge. 
Now what I present to you is to ask more of your schools not less. Ask your schools for more art, insist on art being an ever present part of you child's education, and be determined to educate others about the intellectual nature of art! Your child may not become an artist, but they will learn how to think like an artist. It is those thinking skills we need in this fast pace out of the box thinking world we live in.  We need flexible thinkers, innovators, and visionaries. 
Museums open your doors to all, make art affordable to everyone in our society not a select few.  Bring the community in make it a part of your museum and more importantly go out to the community in every way possible.
Artists, if you want people to buy your art, view your art, then you must help also... Your future audience is the children of today...if you help them love and appreciate art, they will buy your art and go to museums and symphonies and plays...sign up for an arts council, participate in community events that support the arts...it will only enrich you and others.
You are welcome to add to this discussion.  I welcome your views. We can start with why was Duchamps' re Mutt and important piece of work in the art world.
Betsy

"Artists are visionaries. We routinely practice a form of faith, seeing clearly and moving toward a creative goal that shimmers in the distance-often visible to us, 
but invisible to those around us"
― Julia Cameron

Gaudi/La Familia/Barcelona

The Art of Teaching

I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.
John Steinbeck
This is for every wonderful teacher out there who touches a life, who gives someone a future they would not have, who lights up a life in a dark world.  There is no one I admire more than a teacher who makes magic happen in the classroom! 

A Whistable visit with my British friends/A Visual Journal

I thought you might enjoy the rest of the pictures of my Whitstable visit from a couple of years ago.   If you are British and haven't been to this charming old fishing village and trendy village, then go by all means.  My London friends had lived in different areas of London for years running varying businesses.  Their last neighborhood in London was Crystal Palace, a very ethnic and interesting area with a wonderful view of London from above.  Their last business was Lady's Cabs started not only as a business but for humanitarian reasons.  Women in London were being taken advantage of by unlicensed cabbies.  So Sue Hutchinson started a company with all women drivers for women and the disabled.  Long before I met Sue I had heard about ladies Cabs on the American radio show NPR.  My friend Jen went in with her to run the business which they did for years.  

They decided to leave London and head for the coast and found this delightful little cottage directly on the sea in Whitstable. It is terribly charming and relaxing little house. Sitting out looking at sunset and sunrises is  so thrilling.  

 Whitstable is an immensely charming town with its Fishing village history, fresh seafood markets and restaurants and its old world persona.  There are trendy shops all about, pubs, and little tea shops to dive in for a hot cuppa.  The seashore and nature are the driving force...the unparalleled beauty and expanse of view.  My friends told me it is one of the few places in the world where  you can watch the sun rise and set in one expanse.

 I have grown up on the seashore here in Florida on the Western part of Florida by the Gulf waters.  So I am not unfamiliar with beaches, tides and sea life, but I was unprepared for how different it would be.  The rocks and pebbles where I am used to fine white sand, the roar the ocean can have while I am used to calmer Gulf waters, the call of our gulls are not as loud or as insistent, the breeze can be chilling while ours is humid and tropical, the tidal pools teaming with sea life was unlike any I had seen with plant life dependent on cooler waters and even the pattern of the tides seemed different....It was December and the days were overcast, but I loved the softness and grey brown tones in the grasses next to the sea and the lone boat waiting for its next adventurer.

Boat only seems as if in waiting for its master of the sea

Eddys dividing like Castle walls

My friends house sits right across from the seashore and my bedroom looked out on the sea. I could look out at the eddys and long cast winter shadows from my room.  But the walks with Freddie, the King Charles, Sue and Jenny were the best memories.  

Algae in rich greens

Late afternoon sun glistening upon the seashore

Long Winter Shadows reaching down to the Sea

 Even the way the tide receded left different patterns in the sand than our Florida beaches.  How would one have even imagined that.  Look at the luscious still lives of sea weed and shore life.  The long winter light paints sharp contrasts.  

Charming Sea Side Cottage

Lichen

Quaint Beach Side Cottage with Picket Fence

 The images are so rich in my mind I can hardly wait for another visit and walk about Whitstable with my camera recorded a visual journal that I can draw on later for creativity.  I love to look back and see what I have missed, it is amazing when you go back and look at photo's what was happening around you that you missed in the moment. Doing art is as much about living life and the doing of the art..if you do not fill your reservoir of experiences you have nothing to draw from when you sit down to create.  Thank you Julia Cameron of the Artist's Way for helping me understand that.  An artists date with yourself in an important partner in your creations!  Go our and fill those reservoirs of you life!

This Week's Visitors from around the world at Rabbit's Moon Studio Blog

AudienceRefresh   Now   Day   Week   Month   All time 2011 Dec 30 12:00 – 2012 Jan 6 11:00

Pageviews by Countries United States United Kingdom Russia France Germany Australia Mexico Turkey Argentina Cyprus

Eva Hesse/Pioneer in a Man's World

Eva Hesse has been one of the most interesting artist I have studied and her work early influenced my thinking about my art and the experimental nature of media.  Her story is one of tragedy, loss, and struggle.  She died at young age, yet made an indelible mark in the art world.

 For me Eva identified the scientific part of art that I love, the experimentation and discovery.  In her work I find the intellectualism that is missing in representational art.  In a world dominated by men in the art world she was a persistent force that refused not to be heard.  Her body of work now is looked on by other artists and critics as being a crucial step in minimalism by humanizing a normally cold structural movement.  If you are looking for beautiful representational art, you will not find it here.  What you will find is an artist involved in the discovery of new media, she is creating through experimentation with new materials.  

New York and the modern art scene has not always been friendly nor accepting of women, one could say there is a downright prejudice among museums and galleries to carry male artists work primarily.  That is why pioneers like Eva Hesse, Judy Chicago, Nancy Graves, Elizabeth Murray, Georgia O'Keefe, Louise Nevelson, Louise Bourgoise, Cindy Sherman , Niki de St. Phalle, Yayoi Kamasu, and others are so important.  They took on a male dominated art wold and persisted.  Women throughout history have played an important role in the art world, but in the past were not always recognized, many creating work that was credited to the men they studied with.  

I was fortunate to grow up with three strong women in my life: My Mother, my Aunt Josephine and my Grandmother.  Each were role models in their own right and gave me a gift of what it is to be a strong woman and define yourself in a male world.  They were accomplished women who persisted no matter the obstacle and succeeded.  I grew up with curious intellectual female role models, who taught me to think for myself and seek out the world on my own terms.  Strength of character was their mantra.  So it is in this vein I honor Eva Hesse and all the women artists who have made their mark in a male dominated art world and always persisted.

A Great Story and a Great Artist....

Yayoi Kusama is an amazing artist and she happens to be 82 also.  I once remember my friend Ann saying when you get old you become invisible.  I didn't understand it at first, but then with time and experiencing aging myself, then I did.  I also remember when I was teaching young children art, I came home with a film on Louise Nevelson to review.  The film showed her older, but interesting dramatic makeup and clothes.  My Mother, who was not happy about wrinkles and aging...said, "well at least I can be interesting!"
There is a tendency to think only the young are the only ones going about the important things in life, and in the art world where people are thinking of emerging artists, they usually do not think of artists of age.   Yayoi's latest installation in Australia at Queen's Head Gallery is just stunning.  She handed out thousands of stickers to children and let them put them where ever they wanted in a mock living room.  The transformation is amazing! How could I have not known about this wonderful artist before!?

Whitstable Memories! Love you Brits!!

Just a walk down memory lane for a very fond memory of my Whitstable friends, a beautiful beach and a dog named Freddie who likes to pick up stones in his mouth! As you Julia Cameron says you must live and fill up your bank of experience to draw from for you art. 

Bridget Riley/British Artist Use of Color

Bridget Riley/British Op Artist(scroll over Bridget's name and click for a link to her bio) who was known for her use of color and optical illusion.  


  This post is for my Brit friends and  a special hello to Whitstable!  I can still see the tidal pools and sea life on the beach, feel the sea breeze and watch Freddy, the King Charles Spaniel, pick up stones and run with them!  

Rabbit's Moon studio: Jasper Johns/American Flag/A Study of Color

Rabbit's Moon studio: Jasper Johns/American Flag/A Study of Color: Many of you are already well versed with Jasper Johns who gained prominence during the Pop Art era, but not all of you may have experienced...

Jasper Johns/American Flag/A Study of Color

Many of you are already well versed with Jasper Johns who gained prominence during the Pop Art era, but not all of you may have experienced his study of color in the green and orange version of his American Flag series.  There is a little white dot in the center of the painting, stare without blinking for a minute or so, the immediately look at a blank white wall.  You will be amazed at what you see. The American flag in red, white and blue will appear! It is based on color opposites and that you eye will see the other.  If you don't get it the first time, just try again. 

I worked with John's orange and green American flag in a traveling art museum we had for elementary students, and the students were just awe struck.  They were won over to modern art by Jasper Johns and Claus Oldenburg's soft sculpture of French Fries. 

Joseph Albers was another artist is who studied how colors effect one another as they are next to each other.

Rabbit's Moon studio: The World is Visiting Rabbit's Moon Studio

Rabbit's Moon studio: The World is Visiting Rabbit's Moon Studio: These are the countries that have visited Rabbit's Moon Studio Blog! It is exciting to see the whole world showing up on our site. Look a...