Slow Art Sunday - Pendon

This week, Slow Art Saturday is dedicated to my son Cole who is celebrating his birthday in a couple of days.  Since he is at this moment in Montreal, Quebec, I thought I would feature a mural of Leonard Cohen that appears 21 storeys high on the side of a Montreal building.  This larger-than-life image commemorates the Canadian singer, songwriter and poet. Thousands of hours of work by artists Gene Pendon and El Mac (and many assistant artists) went into this masterpiece, along with 240 cans of paint!  

Take a good long look and wonder about the scope of this 10,000 square foot painting and all of the planning and skill that it must have taken to complete!  Think about how wonder is necessary in creating new things and new solutions. Give yourself more time to wonder!

Happy birthday Cole - a creative, a big dreamer and a wonderer extraordinaire.

TAKE NOTE - The Courage to Have a Vision

I made a vision board for 2023 because that’s what “they” say to do if you want your business to thrive and set you on the path to achieve your goals and dreams. It was in fact, kind of fun because I like looking through magazines, cutting and pasting, buying stuff at the Dollar Store and lettering with different markers.

The actual dreaming part wasn’t too hard either.

I guess after all the hopes and wishes are recorded it seems the real work comes in choosing priorities from the vision board and then of course the hardest part; getting down to it.

Psychology Today says that although vision boarding is a commonly used tool, there is not a lot of research on its effectiveness.  I suppose that doesn’t mean that they don’t work, just that no one has really studied it.  It seems that researching the effectiveness of vision boards is not on anyone’s vision board.

Regardless of the pros and cons, I have found it to be helpful to stop frequently and take a look at my minty new poster to keep me close to the plan and motivated to push on.  Mind you, it is still only January but I’d say so far so good. 

What, you may ask is on my vision board? To be honest, I’ve always been a bit leery to share my hopes and dreams too far and wide because it makes it obvious to everyone if I fall short. But, in the spirit of continuing to step outside my comfort zone (please be proud of me Brene), I vulnerably share a few of the things on my vision board this year.  In no particular order: painting more, experimenting with painting more from who I am, selling those paintings, painting commissions (do you see a theme emerging?), leading experiential art classes for adults, bringing to fruition a couple of projects that have been on the back burner too long (the sale of a huge series and art curriculum), and going to Europe (needed as inspiration for my art, or perhaps I just want a trip!).

According to Brene Brown, “vulnerability is not weakness; it's our most accurate measure of courage”.  And so, courageous I go, into a new year, into a new decade (for me not the calendar), clutching my vision board (too dramatic?) and sticking my neck out.  I mean I even put a reel on Instagram of ME, so talk about risk-taking behaviours!  My conclusion is that making, and more importantly, embracing a vision board takes courage.  You can be on your merry way and let life happen or you can take some time to think about what your gifts are, what you value, what path you feel led to take and what you could do to help these things come to pass.

I leave you with a nudge today to step out in even the tiniest of ways, to follow a little prompting in your spirit and see where it leads.  Here are some courage quotes that may inspire you as well.

"It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else." Erma Bombeck

"Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened."  Billy Graham

 “I beg you take courage; the brave soul can mend even disaster." Catherine the Great

 "Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway." John Wayne

 “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 ESV

"Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest." Maya Angelou

Slow Art Sunday - Morriseau

This week on Slow Art Saturday, I have chosen a Norval Morriseau painting called "Quail Family". Morriseau was an Ojibway artist born in Thunder Bay, Ontario in 1931 who is considered a leader in Canada for contemporary Indigenous art. He painted this in his signature colourful and simplistic style in 1973.

I chose this painting for my "Q" chapter of art curriculum (still in production 😉). You can swipe to see a pic of my painted quail.

Take a few minutes to look slowly and enjoy the thought of a quirky quail family nestling together. For an extra challenge, try your hand at a little sketch - it's not about being a perfect artist but improving your observation skills (and having fun!).

Slow Art Sunday - Morisot

In honour of the birth of my firstborn (Happy Birthday Erin!), I present “The Cradle” for Slow Art Saturday. 

The artist, Berthe Morisot, painted this beautiful and heartwarming work of art in 1872.  Although not popular for women of her time, she had big dreams of selling her art and in fact was the only woman on the cutting edge of Impressionism.  Her professional success was also rare but paved the way for others.

So why do I encourage slow looking at art?  It’s a great opportunity for a mini break from the fast lane and in our distractable world it can also improve your powers of observation.

After slow looking at “The Cradle” for a few minutes, what you would like to know about the story behind the painting?  Take a moment to decide on your opinion of this artwork.  Have a great slooow day!

THREE THINGS for Twenty Twenty-Three - Issue 01

I have decided to commit to something new for this fresh year that I hope will continue for some months to come.  Hopefully my pledge is small enough (only three things :) to help me follow through on this recent intention. Each month my “Three Things” notes will be published about (yes) three things interesting to me and very hopefully to you as well.  If you have a curiosity about art, slowing down, art in our culture, teaching art, where to see art, making soup, even walking and more, I aspire to make it a delightful and helpful read.

Here is my January kick off of “Three Things” to note.

THING ONE

Makoto Fujimura is speaking a language I am loving to hear!  His long-held presence in the art world has and is continuing to make a significant impact in various ways. Mako creates beautiful paintings using a slow art method of pulverizing pigments and minerals, he’s a leader in arts culture founding IAM Culture Care, he’s the author of several compelling books and plenty more which you can read about here if you’d like to know.

He's a deep guy and there is much I could dive into but I will leave you with some quotes of his to mull over. (These are from Culture Care: Reconnecting with Beauty for Our Common Life)

“What if we committed to speaking fresh creativity and vision into culture rather than denouncing and boycotting other cultural products?”

“What if artists became known for their generosity rather than only their self-expression?”

“Effective stewardship leads to generative work and a generative culture. We turn wheat into bread – and bread into community. We turn grapes into wine – and wine into occasions for joyful camaraderie, conviviality, conversation, and creativity. We turn minerals into paints – and paints into works that lift the heart or stir the spirit. We turn ideas and experiences into imaginative worlds for sheer enjoyment and to expand the scope of our empathy.”

THING TWO

After a lengthy hiatus (covid plus), we are once again starting up Second Saturday.  SS is a gathering held on the second Saturday of the month (when else, right?!) which features a bowl of soup and camaraderie.  Of course, it would be easier to drop by if you live in my area but I’ll keep you posted on new recipes and the fun that we had even if you can’t make it.

I’m attaching a link for a simply awesome, hearty meal called Italian Sausage & Tortellini Soup.  I’ve made it over and over with great success and it’s perfect for the winter months.  All the credit goes to Thriving Home for this scrumptious bowl.

THING THREE

If, by any chance, you find yourself in Montreal, Quebec, one of the excursions you may like to consider attending is AURA at the Notre Dame Basilica. A few years ago I took it in and I do not regret it.  I’ll be honest that it was short in length for the price but it was an incredibly moving, immersive sensory experience that left me speechless (for a minute 😊). A preview is here.

Well, that’s it for January.  If you enjoyed these three things and would like to receive another three things next month, please send me your email address. Thanks for reading!

Slow Art Sunday - Lockerby

I took this photo of “After A snowstorm”, 1935 by Mabel Lockerby a couple of years ago when visiting the quite magnificent “Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal”.  It impressed me because I love snowy paintings, the colours she used and the thoughts it brought to mind of huge snowfalls I experienced growing up in Ontario.

I hope your initial glance at this artwork inspires you to slow down and spend a few minutes looking closely.  Do any sentiments come to mind for you?  What’s your favourite small part of the whole?  What questions do you have for the snow shovelers”?

Enjoy!

Slow Art Saturday becomes Slow Art Sunday

Funny thing. I started Slow Art Saturday at the beginning of 2023. A couple of months later I decided that Slow Art Sunday would be a better name as Sunday is usually a slower day for people than a Saturday. Here’s the funny thing - January 1 was a Sunday but when I started writing these art history type posts, the first Saturday was January 7. I didn’t realize until much later in the year that I was missing the very first Sunday of the year and we couldn’t have that.

Do I even need to say all of this and just pretend it was Sunday from the beginning!

TAKE NOTE - Wondrous Wildflowers

I have a thing for alliterations. After an inspiring walk in the woods (on a Wednesday no less), I brought my weedy wildflower bouquet into the house and decided to write a short story with a wayward number of words beginning with the letter w. Why you ask? I’m not really sure except to say that when inspiration strikes, we quirky, artsy types go with it. I ended up writing twenty-six of these crazy stories so that each letter of the alphabet was covered.

If you can stand repetitive rhythm and the lack of perfect English just to get another “w” word in, here is my “W” installation. Enjoy!

On a warm Wednesday evening a couple of weeks ago, I went for a twilight walk. Despite the overgrown, wily path, the woods welcomed me in with a wealth of wildflowers. It was dazzling and wondrous. Winsome weeds were waving at me as far and wide as I could see. Everywhere I looked I was overwhelmed.

Wishing to assemble a weedy bouquet but bewildered about where to begin, I resolved my will to harvest only a wash of purple. Wildflowers bloomed in hues of violet, periwinkle and wine. I gathered a wonderful wee posy not wanting to withdraw too much wealth from the forest.

Wandering the wide pathway, I savoured the lightweight beauty within my hands. I walked from the wildness back to the real world winding my way home where I filled a white vase with water. Although just a collection of withering weeds, their bewitching beauty was a welcome vision. A whiff of nature brought home for a while.

Postscript: The wisdom of wabi-sabi whispered in my whirring mind. “A way of living that focuses on finding beauty within the imperfections of life and accepting peacefully the natural cycle of growth and decay.” (https://www.collinsdictionary.com).

Sounds like weeds to me.

TAKE NOTE - 3 Easy Steps to your First Million

Don’t be mad but I didn’t think that the actual, real title would get as many reads. This post is called “Glenna, Why Are You Talking About SLOW ART and What the Heck Is it?” Before I get to answering this question, I would be ever so grateful if you would bear with me for a paragraph of background info that will help lead us back to the point. Ahem.

Just in case you find yourself moseying back into my old blog posts (no pressure) I thought I would quickly address the time gap since I previously said I was starting a blog and didn’t get very far. Perhaps you noticed (or not, doesn’t matter) that in January 2020 I wrote a post about slowing life down because of a relatively small snowstorm. I had in fact built two snow people so it was relatively big for our area. We were isolated for 3 whole days! Little did I or anyone know that what was ahead would give a new definition for the terms “isolation” and “slow down”. I’m kinda done with talking about Covid but IT and some other unfortunate life events really did cause me to put the brakes on, re-evaluate big stuff, move back to my home and native land, and e-ven-tu-al-ly dive back into my art making in a more intentional way. I’m now here to say a big YAY for that (the art part)!

Because I have come back to art, I have also come back to the concept of SLOW ART which I discovered several years ago. In a nutshell, Slow Art can be two things: 1. looking at artwork in a slow manner to absorb its many facets, and/or 2. embracing the practice of making things by hand that take time. I instantly loved both definitions and found myself exploring the concept in some detail. My students became guinea pigs as I tried out the theory. Surprisingly, having them look slowly at a painting for even a few minutes gave them something to say about it.

I started to read the research which reported that doctors and police officers were engaging in slow art to boost their powers of observation. I discovered that doctors and psychiatrists in some places write prescriptions for patients to attend museums. This, they claim can improve not only their mental health but also their overall physical health. It makes so much sense to me that with our fast-paced lives, slowing down for a minute to take in some beauty would also take down our heart rate. What a simple and lovely antidote to the distraction that is so prevalent in our culture today.

Interestingly, almost everyone I ask has not heard about slow art or Slow Art Day which has been held annually now for a dozen years. In response to this fresh fascination I found myself wanting to spread the news, however, not being a “salesy” personality, I wasn’t sure how to go about it. I did run my thoughts by some trusted artsy friends and they encouraged my enthusiasm. This gave me the oomph to pursue this philosophy by backing it with my own actual trademark. Huh? You ran out and got a trademark you say? I know it seems like a leap but I really did (and do) think it was an inspired thought so I went ahead and made the application.

Now back to paragraph one. This was where a pandemic hit, life got in the way and I almost forgot about my application as it wended its way through the rubber-stamping powers that be who would decide my fate in the trademark world. Lo and behold, as we were finally coming out of mask wearing, I received notice that my trademark had been approved!

Perhaps you will find it amusing that even though I like to name things I consider myself weak at the art of coming up with a good handle. The moniker for each of my paintings usually requires input from friends. My husband and I managed to name four children rather well but other stuff – not so much.

This information is my lead up to revealing the name that I chose for my trademark in complete isolation. Admittedly the phones were working even though we couldn’t see people but I lacked the courage in this odd venture to share it. Such uncharted territory had me deciding to go it alone and I now have a trademark by the name of SLOW ART FLOW. I admit it’s not super duper catchy but it made practical sense to me. I will also concede that practicality is a mediocre way to name something. Hey, but let’s break it down anyway! SLOW ART is a thing (see above), FLOW is a thing (you’ve done something you enjoy, get into the zone and all the sudden time has flown by unnoticed), and “ART” is right in the middle of taking it SLOW and getting in the FLOW! See, undeniably logical.

Think about some of the big names that have been around for ages. General Motors for example. That’s about as general (boring) as they come but no one thinks about that now. How about the gas station not far from us called “Super Duper Boomtown” although we all call it the very catchy “Super Duper”. I think SLOW ART FLOW will grow on us.

I’m confident that slowly looking at art and/or making things that take some time will not bring in a million bucks. It will, however, bring some other benefits to your life that are worth more than money: a reprieve from stress, a stirring of your imagination, and a little spark of excitement about making something with your own two hands just to name a few.

Ergo, I present why I am talking about Slow Art, and accordingly, you now know a bit more about what it is. In your next free moment, you may decide to google Rembrandt, Van Gogh or O’Keeffe and spend a few minutes just looking.

TAKE NOTE - Introducing my great, great, great aunt!

A very long time ago, there was a wealthy linen merchant who lived in Ireland. He belonged to the Quaker faith (also called "Friends") which avidly supported excellent education for their children. When he died, he left money for the establishment of a school and in 1774, the “Friends School Lisburn" was founded. It still operates today.

About 50 years after it opened, a little girl named Mary Ann Valentine was attending the Friends’ school. While there, Mary Ann learned how to cross-stitch beautifully and made a delightful "sampler” when she was 12 years old. Samplers showed the needlework skills a person had accomplished and often included the alphabet, detailed patterns, the person's name and the date it was embroidered.

Many years later when Mary Ann was an old woman, she gave this sampler to her young niece named Hannah. Eventually it found its way to Hannah's granddaughter Elaine, who ultimately passed it along to her niece. That very fortunate niece is me! Now hanging on the wall in my Canadian living room is a two-hundred-year-old needlework creation made by my Irish relative.

One day, after I had finished all twenty-six of my alphabet paintings, it occurred to me that Mary Ann had, like me, spent a lot of time making art using the alphabet. What an enchanting feeling to have this lovely artsy, alphabet connection with an ancestor!