It's OK to relax.

From "Voyaging Southward from the Straight of Magellan" by Rockwell Kent, published in 1924:

"We, to whom the struggle for material comfort has become an obsession, have vauntingly named our pathway progress: our struggle may, however, be as well considered to have been a degenerate weakening, under the pressure of material discomforts, of the will toward leisure - a weakening that became a rout, a rout that we to save our pride name purpose - a purpose whose achievement in the denial of leisure we call civilization. And now at last, having become utterly and irretrievably involved in the disaster of materialism and having debauched the human soul with restlessness, we make luxury our glory, and abandon leisure to the childhood of the race."

Kent is quite the travel/(mis-)adventure writer. His block prints that accompany his writing are spectacular. There is something about "disaster of materialism" that strikes a chord today as it did for Kent in the 1920s. It's OK to relax.

Two-fer

When Alan Mast, my neighbor, came over and asked if I would be interested in sharing his studio space at Fort Andross, it was an offer that just couldn't be refused. It has worked out pretty well. Alan takes the morning shift and I take the afternoon shift. Fort Andross provides most excellent light and it's less than two miles from the house. Click here for some shots of the Studio. As you can see from the shot of my workspace, I'm currently working on two paintings of the Portland Head Light at Cape Elizabeth - one with the sea gull flying by and one without. I couldn't decide whether to leave the sea gull in or take the sea gull out, so I'm painting both. We'll see how that works.

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Alex and I went up to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens yesterday and it was a very, very good visit. The Lady Slippers orchids were out. The tulips were still looking good and the rhododendron were looking sharp. There was an art exhibit on display and around the grounds were the most wonderful metal rebar sculptures of animals by Wendy Klemperer. I took a bunch of snaps and click here to view some of them - Boothbay Botanical. We went into Boothbay Harbor and visited the Joy to the Wind gallery across the footbridge. We had a nice chat with Lynne Seitzer and spent some time eyeing the many works on display there.

Fun with Max Beckmann

Being newly retired from the workplace and having never taken a workshop at the Portland Museum of Art, I signed up for the two session workshop on block printing. I had done linoleum blocks in the past, but it had been a while. The workshop turned out to be an absolute gas. The Portland Museum of Art workshop leader, Julia Einstein, was quite knowledgeable and a good facilitator. We sketched directly onto two small Soft Kut blocks (see above) using the Max Beckman exhibit, Final Days - Modernism and Masquerade: Max Beckmann (1884 - 1950), as inspiration or subject. Herr Beckmann is a little too dark and anguished for me, but his work is definitely "expressive." We then did a white line block cut and a relief cut, and went to press on both rice paper and cotton paper - all in two 2 hour sessions. Ms. Einstein said there will be a watercolor workshop this fall based on an upcoming Winslow Homer exhibit at the Portland Museum of Art. Something to consider.

Bates Senior Art Show at Bates Museum of Art

By my experience, the Bates Museum of Art falls into the "small but mighty" category. The exhibits that Alex and I have seen there have been well worth the trip over to Lewiston from Brunswick. The recent Joel Babb show was a knock-out. The senior show currently on exhibit is no exception. The slide show available here does not do it justice. Alex was impressed by Alexandra Strada's photos and I must confess to being a bit mesmerized by Samuel Guilford's mandalas.

Art in Education 2010 Scholarship

The Art in Education 2010 Scholarship event is being spearheaded by Stephanie Hill, a Brunswick High student. There is a silent auction at Gelato Fiasco on May 21 of donated art work. Stephanie has facilitated donations from local and quite accomplished artists, including Ed McCartan and Mildred Johnson. I have my eye on Mildred's work. Three of my paintings are included. For more info -> http://artineducation2010.blogspot.com/