Susan Marie Dopp’s Lacewing
Susan Marie Dopp's Lacewing exhibit at the Roswell Museum is an enchanting collection of abstract, organic sculptures bathed in colored light that both joyfully celebrate life and poignantly meditate on aging and death.
Sarah Williams’ Pretty Rural
Walking into Sarah Williams' show "Pretty Rural" at Andrea Schwartz in San Francisco, viewers are teleported across the country by her newest paintings. Specifically, they are transported into a dark winter evening complete with Christmas lights in Brookfield, Missouri, where Williams grew up.
July 4th
This year, working from the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada Day on July 1 gets all the attention. But with July 4 quickly approaching, I find myself looking through firework photos from years past across American towns.
Tremont’s Trained Trees
Recently, I've come to appreciate the otherworldly powerline pruning of Historic Tremont in Cleveland, Ohio. "Training" trees to avoid overhead electrical lines isn't uncommon across America, but the wide swaths of space given to them in Tremont is quite something to behold.
Where the Earth Meets the Sky Meets the Sky
A while ago now, driving through the outskirts of Las Vegas NM, I came across this artifact in a large, empty field...
Your Town, USA
Driving across America, it actually isn't unusual to end up passing through several towns with the same name. (For example, there are at least 25 Springfields alone, one reason Matt Groening chose it as the hometown of the Simpsons.)
Flower Fragments, Full of Love
One windy afternoon, as I was walking through a cemetery in Eastport, Maine, something caught my eye where the cemetery's edge receded into the woods.
The Sharpest Tools in the Shed
Driving through the middle of Ohio, somewhere in the small town of Logan you see a small shed with brightly colored pencils painted on the outside. You might think "oh, what a nice space for art classes!" or "my, what a quaint art supply store!" Both excellent guesses. But if you instead said, "I bet that's a pencil sharpener museum!" then you were spot on.
Valentines of Yesteryear
With Valentine's Day now behind us, the big box stores have already cleared out their seasonal shelves for the next holiday. At the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio, however, I found myself surrounded by several hundred years of old valentine cards and mementos adorning the walls, halls, and chairs.
A Small, Polychrome Palace
Just down the street, I stumbled on this unique piece of ...art? Graffiti? Visual goodness.
A Window to the Stars
riving through east Cleveland, you might stumble across the abandoned Warner and Swasey Observatory nestled into the edge of a residential community. Constructed in 1920, it was abandoned in 1980 when creeping light pollution had long since prevented it from serving its function of astronomical research.
Polychrome Paths
While New Year's is now behind us, I was reminded of the holidays while looking at this vintage game board sitting on my shelf. Games have always been a staple of my family's gatherings, when we let go of our differences each year to compete over a rainbow-colored board with a common set of rules.
Louie and Baccus in 1968
I recently had the pleasure to be reminded that beautiful artworks are not the sole domain of museums and galleries. Finding myself in a friend's basement, I was introduced to this gorgeous, fantastical painting by her half-uncle leaning against the wall. Shimmering shades of gold paint capture Walter James Lewis's ("Louie's") self-portrait from 1968.
The Power of the Pen
There's something singularly special about a pencil or a pen resting in our hand. It is a direct vehicle to channel our words, drawings, plans, ideas, and any other number of wonders residing in our heads. With that in mind, it's not unusual to see writers' and artists' graves covered in creative implements that visitors have deposited.
Found Painting No. 102.7 (Alexandria, Virginia)
Walking through Alexandria, Virginia's Clermont Natural Park, park, a bit away from the playgrounds and baseball fields, you'll stumble on a singular underpass.
The Pictures We Leave Behind
Artists are maybe uniquely situated for the posthumous book treatment because the images do so much of the talking, as opposed to a traditional biography.
Bradley’s Tinted Drawing Papers
Sifting through ephemera in a used bookstore, I stumbled on a beautiful "tinted drawing papers" sample pack for the years 1924 and 1925. Manufactured by the Milton Bradley Company, this pack (with its now somewhat faded papers) is a beautiful construction.
Ceiling by Design
Tucked away in a rural corner of America just at the edge of the woods sits a small, unassuming red house. It is a house like any other, decorated tastefully and well kept--with one very unusual feature. The ceiling, from wall to wall throughout, is plastered with stunning World War 2 era posters.
The Beauty of Boxes
Earlier this week, as I struggled to open a package from the mail, I sighed and wished that boxes were better designed. But with it being almost Thanksgiving here in America, I knew the stores would already be full of Christmas wares. And, accordingly, some very interesting boxes!
Malevich Moves!
Untitled by Liubov Popova (1917) / Suprematist Composition (blue rectangle over the red beam) by Kazimir Malevich (1916) / Proun GK by El Lissitzky (c. 1922) Please scroll down after reading this article to view the videos mentioned therein. Part of my joy [...]
Tom’s Tombstone
At Cleveland's Riverside Cemetery, you’ll find the grave of Thomas “TOM” Joseph Baran. Well, technically just the headstone as Tom is presumably still alive and kicking. An engraved headstone speaks (literally, it is written on) of art and aesthetics, noting Cimabue and Giotto. It also has pictures of Superman; Jesus (many Jesuses); a corner devoted to a beloved poodle Clare; spends some time on Hegel’s concept of Geist; and it contains several telescopes and countless other wonders.
I Spy With My Little Eye…
Maybe as a child you played the game “I spy with my little eye…“? Or on road trips, the license plate game? Or the letter game (things always get stuck on Q and Z)? I have fond memories of childhood trips driving across America whiling away the hours with things like these. I still love to wander, whether in the car or by foot, and am always on the lookout for new visual information...
The Beauty of a Cribbage Board
Holed up at the Wurlitzer Foundation in the early months of the pandemic, another artist taught me the game of cribbage. Cribbage was invented by the poet John Suckling in the early 17th century, and was featured in The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens. Today, it continues to be a favorite pastime for sailors, especially on American submarines.
Cleveland’s Trapped Tree
Walking through Cleveland this week, I stumbled on "Trapped Tree" in a quiet corner of the city. This unusual moment, until recently hidden by brush deep in the Ohio City neighborhood, became uncovered as a new greenway opened alongside it.
How to Draw America
Drawing by Joseph Kosuth Although I am not a teacher by trade, I have been fortunate enough to adjunct or lead a special projects class here and there. My favorite part of teaching has always been lesson planning. (This is one of many wonderful [...]