smallshanty-blog

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The spirit of scientific illustration #MargaretMee #saturdayicon

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“No art is any good unless you can feel how it's put together. By and large it's the eye, the hand and if it's any good, you feel the body. Most of the best stuff seems to be a complete gesture, the totality of the artist's body; you can really lean on it” Frank Stella

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This weeks listenings. Having a finals meltdown and reading Keeper of the Bees in an effort to stay sane. Happy Tuesday!

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The here and now

PODCAST

In April, I began listening to one of the most insightful and cozy podcast, a.k.a the Have Company Podcast. The podcast is a beautiful series of interviews which dive into the process and practice of artists and creatives who are friends of Have Company creator Marlee Grace. Discussions spanning from creating work to “finding balance” in daily life provide a rich listening experience. Link is here to the most recent episode: http://have-company.com/podcast .

BOOK

I was brought up to believe that many of the answers to physical and mental healing can be found in nature. Reading Jean Stratton Porter’s “Keeper of the Bees” renewed this belief. The story is set in the post world war era but the story itself is brought to life not by period details or cliff hanger cliches but rather by the strength of the characters and the pure brilliance of the writing. What made this book even more incredible for me personally is the fact that it is set on the California Coast, a place I call home. Go to the library and find a hard copy to read!!!!!!!! 

ALBUM

Judy Henske is up there note for note with Janis Joplin. I love the whole album (1963), but I will admit that the song I played 100+ was the cover song “High flying bird”. This is an album which you want on vinyl because it made for soulful days but for preview sake here is the link >>>> https://itun.es/us/X3Xmm

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When you get the email telling you that your application to your dream university was accepted!! Sans the red face ;)))))

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I find an honesty and raw immediacy in Nancy Spero’s imagery. Through painting and printmaking she provides an indelible perspective on society, gender and the political landscape which strongly resonates across cultures and time periods. Spero is inspiring not only for her artistic ability but more importantly for her social awareness. When ask about  her use of art as a form of protest, she stated ”... I see things a certain way, and as an artist I’m privileged in that arena to protest or say publicly what I’m thinking about. Maybe the strongest work I’ve done is because it was done with indignation. Considering myself as a feminist, I don’t want my work to be a reaction to what male art might be or what art with a capital A would be. I just want it to be art. In a convoluted way, I am protesting the usual way art is looked at, being shoved into a period or category”.