Visual Artist
Freedom and Captivity the Fall issue of the Maine Arts Journal (maineartsjournal.com) is available now. A powerful issue exploring consequences and alternatives to incarceration through the eyes of artists, it is a compelling read.
The Maine Arts Journal Summer 2021 issue is a great. Fellow editor Véronique Plesch wrote this piece and when I was doing the lay out for the issue I was blown away by the images. The essay/interview is just as good.
Branch sculptures are finally at home. Coated with weather proofing they are living outside. We will see how they respond. It is a joy to live with them in the environment.
The photo on the right shows my branch piece alongside artist Tim Dowling’s metal seaweed sculpture.
The Summer issue on the theme Marks and Tracks is delicious, thought provoking and worth taking your time to explore. As an editor, I get immersed and fall in love with many images as I move through the submissions and invited Maine artists/writers. It is a joy to share the work and the ideas. Please feel free to share with friends and let me know what your reactions are.
Nora
The Tower of Inequality idea was germinating for a long time. I had done numerous drawings, attempted a few paintings and was not satisfied with my efforts to display the fundamental imbalance that prevails in the United States.
Power is held by a few and overshadows the rest. The Horatio Alger story is a cruel and useful fable for the elite. Life is painfully different for most Americans. This disturbing reality haunts me. It is something I need to acknowledge personally, and I feel America needs to address.
When it dawned on me that the idea was best realized in 3 dimensions, the piece came together.
It recently was displayed at The Harlow Gallery in their annual juried show in Hallowell, Maine.
Creative Portland does amazing work, getting local work out and part of the everyday scene. The street barricade design above and the banners/signs seen below are my contribution through the Artists’ Rapid Response Team!
Above is a picture of 15 of the 50 or more yard signs we created during 2020. They were displayed all over Maine and are now viewable in the PMA’s exhibit Untitled, 2020 Art from a ________ Time. The show will be up through May and the museum is open to the public.
As an editor of this publication I am excited to announce that the summer issue of the Union of Maine Quarterly is now online.
“Art in a Time of Pandemic and Quarantine” is the theme and it is a powerful issue. It can be viewed at:
maineartsjournal.com
Strange times. I spent the past 8 months in California with my husband, our son and his family. We went there in August 2019 to respond to a medical emergency. My lovely daughter-in-law was struck down by a devastating reaction to an antibiotic, Cipro (ciprofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone drug, avoid these at all cost!) She is now able to participate in much of what is important to her, parenting, music, family life, although it is uncertain what the long term implications on her health will be.
Our son is a film maker, he had unavoidable international travel, which he put off as long as he could. We stayed to provide care and coverage for the family. Then the coronavirus hit. He nearly got stranded in Armenia, then on his return, needed to quarantine for 2 weeks. When he was finally home and virus free, we were ready to come home to Maine but the virus was ramping up.
We returned to Maine yesterday, after nearly 7 weeks of quarantine with grandchildren and family in California. We were suited up, covered, protected and sanitized. We took every precaution we could take and feel confident that we remain healthy, but will happily quarantine for at least 2 more weeks in the comfort of our own home.
I am so grateful to the masses of essential workers, healthcare workers and all citizens who have been sacrificing to make us all safer.
The image above is a piece I worked on periodically for a couple of years. While in California I often thought of it and how it fit the current state of the world. This morning, I looked at it, here in my Maine studio, and realized I had titled it “Isolation”. It takes on new meaning now.
Earth Day 2019. LumenARRT! our group of wonderful artists and activists has been really busy. During 2018 we did about a dozen events, projections and even an installation at the Center of Maine Contemporary Art. Always seeking to create awareness about issues of social, political and environmental justice, LumenARRT! recently joined the Extinction Rebellion call for action on 4/15 with a virtual projection on a South Portland oil tank. You can view it by clicking on the image below or going to:
https://lumenarrt.wordpress.com/
More to come.
